Hrishikesh’s October 27, 1993 Letter to “My dear brothers and sisters”

Hrishikesh dasa chants Hare Krishna and plays harmonium for Bhaktipada and disciples, while two Indian godbrothers massage Bhaktipada’s legs, in Bhaktipada’s personal suite in the Bombay Juhu Beach ISKCON Temple tower (March 1982)

October 27, 1993

My dear brothers and sisters,

Please allow me to reveal my mind to you. Revealing one’s mind in confidence, according to Srila Rupa Goswami, is one of the six exchanges of love between devotees, and, at this time, I believe all of Srila Bhaktipada’s followers need to have some honest loving exchanges.

Please forgive me if what I am about to say offends you. I am truly sorry if my words cause a disturbance, but I cannot remain silent any longer. Thank you for your patience and consideration.

I am greatly saddened by the unexpected turn of events which has taken place here at New Vrindaban beginning on Srila Bhaktipada’s appearance day celebration, September 6th, 1993. My heart has truly been broken.

For those of you who do not know me personally, please allow me to introduce myself so you can better know my background.

I am not a newcomer to New Vrindaban. In 1978, after graduating from college, I renounced a career in music to join New Vrindaban as a full-time inmate. Although I was attracted by the Krishna consciousness philosophy, the chanting, the vegetarianism, the simple living and high thinking, the life-style and the austerity, the primary reason I dropped everything immediately and became Bhakta Hank was the uncompromising preaching and fatherly affection I received from Srila Bhaktipada.

Although my association with him was limited for the first few years, I nevertheless felt a genuine love emanating from him which had a magical quality. It was intoxicating. All problems and difficulties that one experienced in life, however severe, routinely evaporated in his presence.

He inspired me to work hard. He expected the best from me and I gave him my best. I willingly gave my life as an offering for his pleasure only, as did many others including yourself. I was all too eager to surrender to a transparent via-medium to God, connected in the authorized disciplic succession of spiritual masters. He had the answers to life’s questions and his logical preaching and strict behavior reinforced our belief that he was a pure devotee, free from all trace of material desire and cent-per-cent surrendered to the Lord.

His classes and darshans were consistent and solidly based on Prabhupada’s teachings. He did not speculate or try to manufacture his own style of religion. He did not try to “improve” the method of self-realization that Prabhupada gave. He simply presented what Prabhupada taught without changing anything.

We all felt that we were in direct connection to Srila Prabhupada through Kirtanananda Swami. We felt secure in the knowledge that we were following an ancient and authorized process of yoga, a path which had been delineated by the Lord Himself and traversed by hundreds and thousands of saints and sages since time immemorial.

At this time in 1978, please remember, there was no simultaneous guru puja. There were no pranam prayers offered to Srila Bhaktipada—we called him Kirtanananda Swami or simply Maharaja. There was no pipe organ, there was no temple or guest lodge as we know it now—the temple was in the old farmhouse at Bahulaban. There was not even a Prabhupada’s Palace to speak of. The Palace was still a long way from completion and only a few devotees were working on it, which made progress slow.

In the beginning, I lived at the Vrindaban Farm with the other brahmacharis. I worked daily at the Palace, gold leafing, painting and designing. We were making an offering of love to Srila Prabhupada. Everything we did was for Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada was truly the center of the community and it was obvious in the words and activities of the devotees.

After some time, I requested initiation from Kirtanananda Swami. I told him that I wanted to spend the rest of my life at New Vrindaban. He exclaimed with a big smile, “Jaya! That’s what I like! Someone who comes and does not run away.” Maharaja awarded my new name in the fire sacrifice on Gaura Purnima in March 1979, along with Damodar, Jaya Sri Krishna and a dozen others.

After the Palace had its grand opening on Prabhupada’s appearance day in August of 1979, I was asked to go out on sankirtan. I was told not to come back until I collected $5,000. My first sankirtan leader was Tapahpunja who taught me the basics of book distribution and getting donations for incense. We used to go out in the parking lots of Eastern Ohio with a book bag filled with Prabhupada’s paperback books and spiritual sky incense. Sometimes at special events we would pin flowers on people and sometimes at county fairs we would sell Krishna conscious rock music records by Mangalananda.

This was a terrible time for me, because I was not good at sankirtan. It was difficult for me to approach strangers, not to mention asking for their money. I would collect at maximum twenty or thirty dollars a day while my sankirtan buddies would be collecting $150 or even $200 daily. Sometimes I would sit in the van frozen to the seat, petrified with fear, as my more advanced godbrothers—Damodar and Jagannatha Misra—jumped out of the van into a parking lot like experienced paratroopers jumping out of an airplane. Life was hell for me! I was totally miserable!

After a few months of intense suffering, I came back to New Vrindaban for a festival and Srila Bhaktipada spoke to me.

I remained silent for some time and considered his proposal. The headmaster, Sri Galim, had already approached me and asked me to write a musical play based on Krishna’s pastimes for the children. I had already written one song, called Vrindaban Is Such a Nice Place. This would be a service in which I could truly make a nice contribution to the community. I was certainly not making any significant contribution by staying out and frying out on sankirtan.

I was just about to accept his offer when I remembered his classes and darshans where he said that sankirtan was the highest service, sankirtan was the best way to please him. Didn’t I want the highest? Didn’t I want to sacrifice my life for Krishna? Didn’t I want to surrender everything?

I remained on full-time sankirtan until September 1985 when Bhaktipada asked me to start his book publishing/marketing company which we named Palace Publishing. Song of God had come out earlier that year and Christ and Krishna was being printed. In February of 1986 Bhaktipada asked me to travel to the quintcentennial celebration of Lord Chaitanya’s appearance day in Mayapur India, to sell his books, which now included Hayagriva’s Dialectical Spiritualism. There I sometimes had to defend Srila Bhaktipada against various devotees from other temples who were not so favorably inclined toward him. Shortly after returning to New Vrindaban, I married Mahaprabhu’s daughter, Shyama dasi.

In October of 1986, Srila Bhaktipada asked me to develop an ambitious music program of choir, organ & orchestra for the worship services at the temple. I worked with him closely for many years in this service, adapting the traditional Sanskrit and Bengali songs to English in the Western style and training singers and musicians. I created a new liturgy which brought me many compliments and also many criticisms. Srila Bhaktipada was apparently pleased with my service, for he wrote in his book How to Love God, “I think the vision [that Krishna] has given me in regard to preaching with music is best understood by Hrishikesh.”

However, beginning in 1987, little by little, I began to see and hear things which made me begin to have my doubts about Srila Bhaktipada’s character and his vision for spreading Krishna consciousness. I began to think that lying to people in order to collect money for Krishna may not be the best way to serve Krishna. I began to think, what is the use of expending so much time and energy in building a gargantuan Cathedral at New Vrindaban if Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold was falling apart? In addition, what use is a City of God if the residents were fighting and bickering among each other? How would this be any different than any other city? I remember one darshan with Srila Bhaktipada when he thundered, “There will be NO householders in the City of God! Only brahmacharis and sannyasis. The householders will have to live outside the city wall.” I began to think: Maybe I’d better find another spiritual community to live in.

I revealed my mind on several occasions to Bhaktipada, but he could not always dispel my doubts about his vision. Nonetheless, I never doubted his purity and therefore continued to serve him faithfully, accepting the apparent paradoxes as inconceivable to my limited mind.

I remember the evolutionary experimental phases that we went through under Bhaktipada’s direction. For some time we were chanting japa on clickers, then on small beads, then we were chanting in English, “Lord Krishna, have mercy on a sinner like me and grant me your service eternally.” Then we were chanting again in Sanskrit.

After some time we began chanting silently at the noon service. Then all of our japa was silent. I remember one silent chanting service in the temple. I was sitting at the organ, which, at that time, was located in the front of the temple next to Lord Nrsimha’s altar. We had been meditating for some time when I heard a snore coming from the loudspeakers. I opened my eyes and looked around. Then I heard another snore, and another, and another. I looked to see where the microphones in the temple were located. There was only one microphone close enough to a person to pick up snoring and it was right in front of Srila Bhaktipada’s nose. His eyes were closed and his chin rested on his chest. I looked around the room. Everyone’s eyes were closed except for Nityodita Swami. Our eyes met and we nodded toward Bhaktipada and smiled. After less than a minute, the snoring stopped and Srila Bhaktipada raised his head, opened his eyes and whispered, “Krissssssshhhhhhh - naaaaa!”

I talked to Nityo soon afterwards, “Did you see and hear what I did?” He said, “Yes, but you must remember that Bhaktipada’s sleeping is not like your sleeping!” When I talked to Bhaktipada about it later, he vehemently denied falling asleep.

After some time, we didn’t have to chant 16 rounds anymore, just an hour-and-a-half daily. Bhaktipada claimed to chant 64 rounds a day, but when I traveled with him to New York, I did not think that he was actually chanting that much.

I was also not impressed by the results of our experiment with our interfaith residents. Many of them claimed that Bhaktipada had lied to them and cheated them. One of them left fearful for his life.

Bhaktipada advocated a raw food diet, but regularly ate lasagna. During one darshan at his house I heard Bhaktipada claim that in five minutes he could find enough wild plants growing in the woods behind his house to live on for an entire day. But as a former Eagle Scout, I had studied and collected edible plants and knew that he was making a gross exaggeration. The “No Salt” fad diet was another “improvement” that he recommended for his devotees. Recently Bhaktipada sent Gaurasakti to Central America to look for a tropical island for sale. Apparently he has enough money to buy a million-dollar island, but not enough money to purchase feed for starving cows.

Several years ago, I read in Prabhupada’s letters that Bhaktipada one time had blooped from ISKCON. I asked him about this. He smiled with embarrassment and said, “I was in Maya.” I accepted his explanation and never brought it up again.

I also asked him about allegations of sexual contact with Chaitanya Mangala. He replied, “I was incapacitated at the time. I could hardly walk or talk. Such accusations are preposterous.” I accepted his explanation.

Then on the day after his appearance day, Tuesday September 7, 1993, when questioned in private about recent allegations of apparently-erotic behavior—extended hugging and embracing with a male disciple in the bed of his Winnebago van one night—Bhaktipada asked the leaders of the community to decide on a course of action he should take for his rectification. But the next day he retracted his confession and claimed to be innocent, a statement which caused much confusion and confrontation among devotees. He came to the temple for an istagosthi where it was expected that he would explain everything for everyone’s satisfaction. He began by reading a commentary on the verse in the Bhagavad-gita where Krishna says, “Even if my devotee commits actions abominable, he is still to be considered saintly.” Then he told the story about Parasara Muni who became afflicted with lusty desires while crossing the Ganges and seduced the woman who was steering the boat. From this union the great sage Vyasadeva was born. Bhaktipada concluded that even if a great soul seems to act in an improper way according to material vision, we should understand that it is simply a part of Krishna’s lila.

Then he asked for questions. I won’t go into details, but he did not answer the questions that were asked of him. He evaded them, he denied them, he attacked the character of the persons asking them, he exhibited great expertise in the art of word jugglery, etc., but he did not answer the questions.

I had a very strong feeling that Bhaktipada had indeed committed some transgression. It was obvious to me. For years, whenever I had seen him accused of some wrongdoing, he had immediately denounced the demons and waved the flag of innocence. Bhaktipada was always very outspoken about his innocence, especially regarding the court case. But for 30 minutes in the darshan, he did not mention that he was innocent. He neither acknowledged nor denied the accusations.

After some time, disappointed by his evasiveness, I raised my hand and said, “Bhaktipada, you know that I have great affection for you despite the fact that I have not always exhibited this affection by surrender. You should know that your disciples are in great confusion. We need to know, once and for all, if you are guilty or innocent of the alleged charges.”

Bhaktipada began responding, but he still did not answer the question. Finally, I demanded, “No. You must answer the question. There is great doubt in the minds of your disciples and you must kill these demons of doubt.”

There was a moment of silence, then Bhaktipada smiled and said, “Innocent!”

A roar of applause erupted from the front of the room from the disciples who were sitting at Srila Bhaktipada’s feet, while tears glided down the faces of the other devotees in the temple. Some people left the room crying. Shortly afterwards, Bhaktipada departed, followed by a cheering crowd of well wishers.

I was shocked and hurt by his denial, but I decided to wait patiently and let Krishna take care of everything. However, I couldn’t forget it. Many times I had gone to the temple for the morning service, opened the door and peeked in, saw Bhaktipada sitting on the vyasasana, closed the door and walked up to the Palace for the alternate mangala aroti. It was unbearable to see him accepting worship like that.

After three weeks, still apparently nothing had been done to correct the situation. I called Adwaita, the chairman of the board that Bhaktipada had asked to draw up a proposal regarding his resignation from the management of the community. Adwaita said that work was progressing, but slowly. Nityo Swami told me that, since Bhaktipada’s confession, the residents of New Vrindaban had become the laughing stock of ISKCON. “Just see how blind those devotees are!” his godbrothers chided. “They are still worshipping him, despite his admission of sexual improprieties.”

I had a discussion with Kripamaya Prabhu and he chastised me for accepting second- and third-hand information. “You should hear only from the horse’s mouth!” he said. I took his instruction to heart, called Chaitanya Mangala in California and asked him exactly what happened between him and Bhaktipada while he was his personal servant in the early part of 1986. His answer surprised, me: “I was Bhaktipada’s personal servant for over a year after he got out of the hospital. In mid-January, I noticed what I thought were sexual advances toward me. At first I thought they were accidental, but as they continued, I began to have my doubts.

“This really made me confused, because I had been taught that if a disciple thinks bad thoughts about his spiritual master, he should either put the thoughts out of his mind or, if he cannot do this, then he should kill himself. I was really in great mental anguish. I thought I was going to hell for thinking those things. I suffered a lot.

“Then I decided that I must make a test to see if my suspicions were true or not. The next time he made sexual advances, I went along with him and did not resist. Before long, he had me on the bed.” [Dear reader: the graphic details of what happened next is not something I want to include in this letter for obvious reasons.]

Chaitanya continued, “When I was convinced that I was not imagining this, that Bhaktipada was indeed performing sexual activities to me, I got off of the bed and stepped away. Bhaktipada exclaimed sarcastically, ‘Oh! You're SO advanced!’”

At this point in our phone conversation, I questioned Chaitanya: “But Bhaktipada told me personally that this was alleged to have happened soon after he returned from the hospital. He said he could hardly walk or talk. He was practically an invalid.”

Chaitanya said: “Remember that Bhaktipada was released from the hospital in November 1985. This happened two months later in mid-January. Not only was he walking and talking when this happened, but he was driving his vehicle around the farm.”

Then I said, “But Bhaktipada has told others that he has no memory of this incident taking place. His memory was damaged by his brain injury.”

Chaitanya: “It is true that he does have memory problems, but he certainly remembered it after it happened, because he wouldn’t let me out of his sight for a year! I could hardly speak privately with anyone for the longest time.”

This jogged my memory and I recalled a time in Srila Bhaktipada’s house when I witnessed Chaitanya’s father and sister begging him to come home for dinner with them for just a few hours. Srila Bhaktipada grabbed Chaitanya's arm and said, "I'm sorry, but I need him. He's my nurse. I need his constant attention." Chaitanya concluded, "In fact, Srila Bhaktipada tried to bribe me by marrying me to a millionaire's daughter." [Nathji's daughter, Vrinda Priya]

But Srila Bhaktipada had already made explicit confessions to several persons. He had told Radhanath Swami and Devamrita Swami, “I felt like Arjuna felt when Krishna left him—defeated by a couple of cowherd boys.” He had told Lilasukha that he had “done things he should not have done.” He had told Krishna Truthful that he “got a little carried away.” He had told Strong Faith and Ramananda that he had “a problem with attraction for young men.” He had told Nathji and Ranchor in the presence of PK Swami, Bhaktirasa Swami and Sudhanu, that he had been a practicing homosexual up to the day he met Srila Prabhupada, after which he gave it up completely. But since his head injury in 1985, he has had a problem with recurring sex desire. He told the devotees present: “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.” He requested that senior men take turns staying with him 24 hours daily to help him avoid temptation.

But despite his private confessions, Bhaktipada was still sitting on the vyasasana accepting worship. By this act, more than anything else, he was splitting the community. Even a mundane politician has the common sense to resign from his political post when illicit sexual behavior is made public. Fondling young men’s private parts is not a respectable activity even according to the degraded contemporary American standard.

I decided that someone must approach Bhaktipada immediately with great candor to try to help him. Over three weeks had gone by since he retracted his confession. He was losing his credibility fast. Every passing day destroyed his disciples’ faith in him more and more. I intuitively realized that a humble submissive approach would not help him, so I decided to try a forceful presentation. I wrote down my heartfelt feelings about the matter and traveled to Silent Mountain to visit him.

I requested a private darshan and began, “Srila Bhaktipada, I think I have a very deep love for you in my heart, although I do not always show it. I would like to reveal my mind to you, but first I must ask you a question.

“There is a great naval commander who is the captain of a battleship. He is the most respected man in the entire Navy. He has just finished an especially difficult battle in which he was wounded by the enemy. He tells the navigator to set sail to port by a particular route. The captain retires to his quarters.

“The captain has two sons who are second in command. The sons meet in the control room to read the charts of the ocean. They are stunned to see that the course the captain has set is fraught with great danger. The route is full of sharp jutting rocks, whirlpools, shallow waters, icebergs, fog, many shipwrecks, sea serpents and frequent storms. It is unlikely that they will reach their desired destination if they follow this course.

“However, the sons see an alternate route to the port, a route which has been recommended by all previous naval commanders, a safe route with deep water, favorable winds and good visibility. One of the sons exclaims: I must immediately tell the captain that he has made a mistake and we should change course before it is too late!

“The second son counters: No! You should not do this. The captain is an experienced naval commander, the most respected in the entire fleet. Surely he knows of the dangers and he probably knows a way to get through them safely. You should not question him. Besides, we don’t want to disturb the morale of the crew.”

Then I asked Bhaktipada, “Which of the two sons is better?” Bhaktipada replied, “They are both perfect, because whatever each offers the father, is offered with love.”

I said, “Then please accept with love this offering of a contrary opinion.” Then I gave him the following letter and remained sitting at his feet while he read the entire contents.

[End of letter] While Bhaktipada was reading I was constantly praying to Prabhupada, ”Please speak through me. Let me be your instrument.” As soon as Bhaktipada was finished reading, he looked at me and joked, “Did your wife write this?” Apparently he did not believe that I wrote it. I replied, “My wife could not possibly write such a letter, and even if she could, she would not dare send it to you.

“No, I wrote every word myself, and then I showed it to a few devotees who I thought were mature. Each one said: I wish I could be so honest with Bhaktipada.”

SB: “I never said that people should not be honest with me!”

HD: “I know that, but for some reason or other, many devotees are afraid to reveal their doubts about your character to you.”

Bhaktipada exclaimed: “But I haven’t done anything wrong!” I replied, “Even if you haven’t done anything wrong, your behavior is so questionable that you should still step down to set an example to show how a guru should act when caught in a compromising position. His character must be above suspicion. Mother Sita was the most chaste wife, yet Lord Rama banished her from his kingdom because of the doubts of a Sudra. Lord Chaitanya banished the brahmachari Chota Haridas because of a slight offense.”

SB: “What did I do to make the GBC kick me out of ISKCON? They should have kicked me off the GBC, instead of excommunicating me!”

HD: “You did not cooperate with your godbrothers. [There is a long history of this, which I will not get into. However, let it be known that when Bhaktipada was in Bombay, Nathji personally telephoned him and begged him to come to the meetings at Mayapur to defend himself, but Bhaktipada refused.]

[Conversation continued:] HD: “Bhaktipada, do you realize what distress you are causing at New Vrindaban? Someone has taken your picture off of the wall in the temple. People are very angry. Devotees in India have threatened to take your picture off of the vyasasana if you do not reply to Nathji’s questions within a week.” [Nathji asked Bhaktipada two questions: 1) Why did you not step down seven years ago when you first experienced difficulty controlling sex desire, and 2) Why have you not stepped down yet? FAX dated 9/26/93]

HD: “Already the devotees in the temple are singing the prayers in Sanskrit again. People don’t respect you like they used to. Your changes were a great experiment, and I loved every minute of it, Bhaktipada! but they failed! And do you know why? What name did Prabhupada give to our community? He did not call it New Westminster Abbey, or New Vatican City, places where God is worshiped in great awe, reverence, majesty and glory as the King of Kings with fanfares with pipe organ, trumpets and kettledrums. No. He named it New Vrindaban, a place where God is not even worshiped as God, but as a little boy, a friend, a child, a lover. And the worship music of the Vaishnavas reflects this conception of God. It is intimate. It is simple. It is spontaneous. The Western classical style works great for the Christian conception of God. That’s why it evolved that way during the course of two thousand years. Similarly the Vaishnava form of worship has developed according to their conception of God.

“You should come to the temple tomorrow morning, offer flowers to Prabhupada and sit in your chair, not your vyasasana. You can make a simple statement that you are feeling some spiritual weakness right now and want to temporarily step down from the position of guru to rectify the situation.

“Then you should travel and preach, as Nathji recommends in his letter. If a sannyasi or brahmachari has some difficulty with sex desire, the standard remedy is for him to go out on traveling sankirtan. A rolling stone gathers no moss. I will be happy to drive you anywhere you want to go. I suggest you spend a week with Satsvarupa Goswami. Then we can spend a week with Bhakti Tirtha Swami. You have many godbrothers who would be happy to give you their association.

“And you need their association! You need their help. You cannot conquer this alone. Just get away from here for a while, at least until your trial. New Vrindaban devotees can take care of themselves. Visit your godbrothers in ISKCON. It will be good for you, it will be good for your devotees, it will be good for ISKCON. It will be good for the entire world.

“But you better act fast, before devotees begin investigating your activities with a magnifying glass. Your disciples are becoming very curious now. They are asking, ‘What did Bhaktipada do?’ If you were honest during your September 8th istagosthi and admitted to some weakness and stepped down immediately, your disciples would not care to know the details about your weakness.

“Devotees are not fault finders. We are not flies that search for stool. We are quick to overlook faults. But when you confess to some, and deny to others, and then confess again to some, and deny again to others, people start to wonder what really happened. Your disciples are investigating now. I personally called up Chaitanya Mangala. I called this person. I called that person. We just want to know the truth.”

I concluded, “The solution is very simple, but there is one problem: the solution requires great humility. But you’re too proud.”

At this time we were both silent. I had said all that I wanted to say and Bhaktipada also had said all that he wanted to say. He quietly said, “Thank you,” and I responded, “Thank you, Bhaktipada.” I left the room, exhausted but feeling very optimistic. I felt that we had successfully connected. The discussion was meaningful.

The next morning, Bhaktipada did not come to the temple for the morning service. He did not come the next day, nor the next day. He still has not come to the temple for the morning service since the day I spoke to him. After my meeting with him, Bhaktipada wrote the following letter:

[End of letter] RVC Swami read the letter at the morning service and took Srila Bhaktipada’s picture off of the vyasasana. I was very encouraged by this and I thought that Bhaktipada was indeed sorry for his offenses and eager to rectify himself. At this time I had not discussed my conversation with Bhaktipada with anyone. As far as I was concerned, what happened in Bhaktipada’s house at Silent Mountain was between me and him. I planned to tell no one about it.

However, the next morning the picture was back on the vyasasana, “with Bhaktipada’s permission.” PK Swami told me, “If there is no picture it implies that the disciplic succession has ended.” What nonsense! Are we the only followers of Lord Chaitanya? One branch may break off the tree, but sincere disciples can easily jump off the falling branch onto another living branch.

The picture came off the next day, but it was soon back on again. The following day there was a beautifully-lettered and framed poster on the vyasasana with the words: “If you like, you may continue to worship me mentally, or in your heart. . . . Srila Bhaktipada.” After a few hours, the picture was gone with only the sign. Then a couple days later the sign was gone and the picture was back. As of today, the picture is still on the vyasasana.

Bhaktipada often said, “Pride goeth before the fall.” Bhaktipada commented on this topic once during a darshan: "Question: Can you say something about a devotee who is proud of his spiritual realization?"

SB: “These are contradictory statements. A devotee who is proud cannot have spiritual realization." City of God Examiner 2.14.1990.

The day after the letter of resignation was released, Srila Bhaktipada gave an istagosthi in the temple. Among other things, he said, "I have been asked why did I write that I have been your acharya for two decades when Srila Prabhupada was the only acharya twenty years ago. I ask, what does the word acharya mean? It means 'one who teaches by example.' Therefore I have been acharya not only for two decades, but for three decades! All this time I've been teaching by example how to surrender to Krishna! In fact, everyone is teaching by example whether they know it or not. I am acharya. You are acharya. Everyone is acharya."

But where does Srila Prabhupada write this in his books? Prabhupada uses the word acharya only in connection with the greatest spiritual masters, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharaya, etc. He never says that a common devotee is an acharya. No. Here are some examples of Prabhupada's definition of the acharya:

In other words, the word acharya specifically refers to only the greatest gurus or spiritual masters. Furthermore, Prabhupada explains some of the qualities of the bona fide spiritual master:

I asked Srila Bhaktipada on the phone: “You wrote in your letter: ‘If you like, you may continue to worship me mentally, or in your heart, but not, for now, on the vyasasana.’ Then why do you allow your disciples to continue to worship your picture on the vyasasana?” Bhaktipada replied, “I meant they should not worship me personally on the vyasasana.”

Of course it has been impossible for Bhaktipada’s disciples to worship him personally on the vyasasana, since he has not attended one mangala aroti at the temple since September 30. I thought that the picture of the spiritual master was supposed to be non-different from the spiritual master. Worshiping the picture is the same as worshiping personally. This is not consistent.

Also at this istagosthi, Bhaktipada said that the New Vrindaban Board of Directors had no authority to lead the community. He said that he did not know where they got their authority from. In other words, he says that he is stepping down, but he also says that no one else has the authority to take his place. He steps down on paper only. In public he makes a show about wanting to get out of the management of New Vrindaban, but behind the scenes he remains involved, especially when money is concerned. A $100,000 refund check arrived from the government for Tapahpunja’s bail. The New Vrindaban accountant put this in the community treasury intending to use it to help pay the mortgage on the temple property. However, when Bhaktipada came to know of it, he insisted that it be put in his personal account. Some devotees agreed, saying that the money originally came from sankirtan collections and that all sankirtan money is Bhaktipada’s.

However, I think that it does not look good for a sannyasi to be so much involved in money matters, especially for one who has just stepped down from a high position due to “being attacked by Maya.” B. R. Sridhar Swami said that attachment to money is the second cause of falldown for a guru. Lord Chaitanya refused to meet with King Pratiparudra because he considered the king a mundane person interested in money and women. Prabhupada says in the purport: “As a sannyasi, Sri Chaitanya was afraid of both money and women.” CC Madhya Lila 13.61

October 18. Today I drove to Elkins and back (285 mile round trip) to personally read the transcript of Bhaktipada’s 1991 court case. I was inspired to do this by Kripamaya who chastised me for accepting second and third hand information. The transcript was so lengthy that I read for almost four hours without finishing it. However, I did read the testimonies of Chaitanya Mangala, Kardama, Kuladri, Lalita Madhava and some others. I also read Srila Bhaktipada’s testimony. I was shocked by what seemed to me to be honest and believable testimony from persons, who I had been told, were lying and making up stories to convict Srila Bhaktipada.

Please understand. I’m not saying that Bhaktipada was guilty of the charges. His convictions have already been overturned by the appeals court. I’m not saying that the trial was fair. I’m not saying that none of the witnesses lied. I am saying that the testimony of the witnesses that I read seemed to be honest and believable. Following is a portion of Kuladri’s testimony (Bhaktipada’s right hand man for over fifteen years) which I thought relevant to our present situation:

[End of transcript] This conversation sounds a lot similar to the conversations with Bhaktipada today. Sometimes he admits acting improperly, and sometimes he does not admit. An objective observer would have to conclude that Bhaktipada is either a liar or else he has some kind of a brain disorder or mental disease.

October 19: Today was the community heart song meeting arranged by Sankirtan Prabhu. All community members were invited to attend and speak their mind. I read most of the contents of this letter. The response, which I expected, was horrific to say the least. One person left after a few minutes of hearing such “blasphemy,” many others were deeply disturbed, but a few people were profoundly shocked into a new understanding. Others were already in agreement with my analysis and expressed their appreciation. However, after six-and-a-half hours of emotionally-charged heart talking, the meeting had no conclusion. Nityo expressed it nicely, “We will go on meeting like this for a hundred years and not come to any conclusions.”

Open meetings like this will never accomplish any good, because only a small percentage of society are actually brahmanas—the intelligent class of men. Very few persons at the meeting spoke anything based on scripture. Almost everyone spoke only on the basis of sentiment: “Oh, I think this, my heart says this, I feel this, etc.” One favorite comment was: “How can some people be so cruel that they try to kick Bhaktipada away after all the good he’s done for us through the years, etc.” Can’t they understand that those persons who want Bhaktipada to step down from the position of guru want him to do so for his own benefit? The scripture is like the doctor. The prescribed medicine may not be palatable, but unless the patient takes the medicine he will not be healed. Hansadutta Prabhu sent a FAX to Bhaktipada with the message: “Don’t be misled by well-meaning but foolish disciples who want to continue worshiping you. It happened to me and it is the worst thing.”

I hoped that I was able to help turn a few people toward the truth by speaking out, but it was not without personal risk because my statements were interpreted as blasphemy by the Bhaktipada fanatics.

Janmastami began heated accusations: “I heard Bhaktipada say personally that he was innocent and that settles it! Anyone who says anything else is a liar!” His wife chimed in, “According to scripture, I have a right to kill half of the people in this room!” There were about 50 people there.

The next day I wrote the following letter to Srila Bhaktipada and personally presented it to him at Silent Mountain.

[End of letter] Srila Bhaktipada said [to me after reading my letter]:

[End of darshan] Bhaktipada has said that one should accept as spiritual master that person who inspires the disciple to serve Krishna the most. I can only say that if initiation is a matter of the heart, my connection with Srila Bhaktipada is hanging by a thread. I tried my best to help him according to the instructions of sastra. I tried to give him a chance to admit his mistake and rectify himself. I tried to help him as best I could. I consulted with godbrothers and elders. I have done my best.

But he steps down only on paper, not in actuality. He continues to insult and impede the devotees who are trying to act for his welfare by giving him the medicine he needs. His lying and duplicity have practically destroyed our faith in him. Contradictory statements and inconsistent behavior cannot inspire faith in a discriminating follower. One of his favorite quotes of recent years was: “Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds!” I admit it, I have a small mind. In the light of the events of the last two months, how can I follow him any longer on blind faith? What choice have I other than to reject Srila Bhaktipada as my spiritual master? Bhaktipada is very clever at argument and debate, but he has not been clever enough to maintain the unalloyed faith of his disciples.

These are trying times here at New Vrindaban, but it is a glorious struggle. For the first time in history, the devotees who understand something about Bhaktipada’s personal difficulties constitute a considerable percentage of the total New Vrindaban population. I think they will not hide their heads in the sand like an ostrich, pretending that everything is all right, but will take the necessary authorized steps to assist Srila Bhaktipada. I just pray that all parties concerned will behave in a mature, peaceful and dignified manner.

But others argue: “Who are you to judge such a great soul as Srila Bhaktipada? You should take the beam out of your own eye before trying to remove the speck from his.”

Why Krishna chose me to write this letter is a mystery to me. I cannot understand the ways of the Lord. But I do know that gold should be accepted even from a filthy place, a good wife should be accepted even from a low family, and good advice should be accepted even from a sudra. My only qualification might be that I try to be an honest person, and I expect honesty from others. If Bhaktipada claims to follow Prabhupada, he should be judged by Prabhupada’s standard. I am not alone. I have consulted with advanced devotees in our sampradaya and they are of the same opinion.

I present my case to you, my friend, as seen through the eyes of sadhu and sastra. You examine the evidence. Read the Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita. Consult sadhu, consult sastra, and do something about it! You can help! Write to Srila Bhaktipada. Tell him you love him and want to assist him. But your help must be according to sastra. The mother who feeds her child against the doctor’s orders only hurts the child more. In his letter Bhaktipada says, “I want to teach humility by eagerly accepting humiliation. . . . I ask all my disciples to help me in this decision.”

Please read his letter again. Read it ten times. His letter is a desperate cry for help. Don’t think that he doesn’t really mean what he wrote, or that he wrote that letter for a political purpose. He has been wounded and we are slowly finishing him off if we do not stop our senseless worship. I beg you, please stop killing Srila Bhaktipada! Ask him to take his picture of the vyasasana. Ask him to stop lying. As him to admit his faults in all humility. Ask him to renounce control of sankirtan moneys. Ask him to follow Prabhupada strictly again. As him to approach his godbrothers in all humility and beg forgiveness for his offenses. Ask him to take shelter of his advanced godbrothers, within ISKCON and without. Help him to learn humility, as he asks in his letter. This the greatest service we can do for Srila Bhaktipada at this time. He is depending on us. We cannot let him down. Help him to break through the net of illusion that is covering him. Challenge him to speak only the truth, free from duplicity. Challenge him to be a real acharya, not a “rubber-stamp” acharya. The disciple has the right to demand truthfulness from the spiritual master. The disciple has the right to demand purity from the spiritual master. The disciple has the right to demand all these things, and more, from the spiritual master. Actually, as a disciple, you have a duty to demand all these things. Don’t be a sentimentalist. Be a philosopher. Be a real disciple.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter. I invite your comments and opinion.

Sincerely,
Your brother

Hrishikesh Das

295-B Palace Road
Moundsville, WV 26041
phone: (304) 845-0467

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