A Chapter from the 2021 book Gold, Guns and God, Vol. 2, by Henry Doktorski
Professor Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva) at his Ohio University office, Columbus, Ohio (c. late 1968 or early 1969).
Chapter 16: Hayagriva Ties the Knot
On October 2, 1968, Hayagriva wrote to Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and asked him how best he should combat lust. Within ISKCON it has been observed that many devotees, despite their best attempts, are unable to practice complete celibacy, and Hayagriva was no exception. Prabhupada decided that his disciple should get married and inquired from the New York temple president, Brahmananda, if any suitable girls were available, as Prabhupada was of the opinion that “girls generally come to our Society to find out a suitable husband.”
Another thing, this is of course, private, that Hayagriva may be willing to marry some of our brahmacharinis [unmarried celibate female students]. So I shall be glad to hear from you which brahmacharini you may suggest suitable for Hayagriva. In fact, unless our brahmacharis [unmarried celibate male students] are very adamant remaining as brahmachari, I shall recommend everyone to marry. Because these girls generally come to our Society to find out a suitable husband, so there is no harm to live as husband and wife, as Mukunda, Gurudasa, and Shyamasundar, they are living very nicely. Similarly, others, Murari, also living. So this is not bad. But if one can live as brahmachari, that is very good. So you can suggest [to] me privately which girl can be suitable for Hayagriva. [Endnote i]
The following day, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada personally wrote to Hayagriva and suggested he take a wife:
Regarding your enemy, Mr. Lust: I have noted the difficulties, but we should always remember that Krishna is stronger than any demon, and Mr. Lust, or his father or his grandfather, nobody can do anything provided we take shelter of Krishna very tightly. Now so far your personal matter is concerned, you are a brahmachari, you can marry at any time, and in New York, all the nice girls, they are actually very suitable for our students, and I encourage that all the brahmacharis may be very responsible, and marry one of the girls. Because generally the girls desire good husband and a good home, children, that is their natural propensity, so we want to show some ideal householders also.
But the proposal that marriage will solve the question of lust is not practical. Neither wife should be accepted as a machine for satisfying our lust. The marriage tie should be taken as very sacred. One who marries for subduing lust is mistaken. Because lust cannot be satisfied simply by indulging in sense gratification. It is compared with that extinguishing the fire with large amount of petrol. For the time being, the fire may appear to be extinguished by pouring a large quantity of petrol, but the petrol itself is so dangerous that at any time, it can be in flame. So to subdue lust is a different process. . . .
In conclusion I may inform you that you can marry anytime, and any one of the girls in New York shall be ready to marry you as soon as I say. There is no problem in that matter. And each and every girl there are very nicely trained, and you will be happy. [Endnote ii]
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explained the Krishna conscious philosophy of marriage: “We select girl, say, about 16, 17 years old, and boys not more than 24 years old. I get them married. You see? And because their attention is diverted to Krishna consciousness, they have very little interest simply for sex life. You see? They have got better engagement.” [Endnote iii]
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada wrote to Brahmananda, “Regarding Hayagriva: I think you can open direct correspondence with him in the matter of his willingness to marry, and I think he is serious about rendering service to the Society.” [Endnote iv]
Hayagriva refuses to marry
But Hayagriva, at this time twenty-seven years old, did not want to take a wife. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada attempted to convince his reluctant disciple to marry one of his female disciples:
I also understand that you do not want to get married now, but if you marry at all, you should marry now. Because after the age of 30, marriage is not so pleasing. Practically I am giving in charge of the different centers to the grihasthas. If you decide to marry, there are many devotee girls, and one of them may be a very nice companion for your devotional life. You prefer to be free, but a devoted wife is as good as freedom. The grihastha disciples, just like Shyamasundar, Mukunda, and Gurudasa, with their wives, are doing very nicely in London. Similarly Dayananda and his wife Nandarani are doing very nicely here [in Los Angeles]. Similarly Satsvarupa and his wife Jadurani are doing very nice in Boston. Another grihastha, Gaurasundar, has gone to Hawaii, and his wife may go there also, and he will organize the Pacific region. So we have taken this New Vrindaban scheme, and it has to be developed very nicely. [Endnote v]
Hayagriva stubbornly refused to acquiesce to Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s request to marry and for good reason: he was attracted to young men, not women. Prabhupada seemed unaware of his disciple’s homosexual orientation and delivered an ultimatum: if Hayagriva refused to get married, he could not visit his parents in Alabama during the Christmas holidays.
As you have given up the idea of marriage, I think you can give up the idea of seeing your parents annually. You just prepare yourself for further advanced spiritual life. After all, our mundane relationships with father and mother, or wife and children, cannot protect us from the trap of Maya. It is said by one Vaishnava poet that in every form of life, one gets a father and mother, because without father and mother, nobody is able to get a material body. So father and mother is possible in any form of body, but only in this human form of body one can get in touch with Krishna and a bona fide spiritual master. That is the highest gain of our traveling in different species of life in different planets. [Endnote vi]
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada tried to encourage Hayagriva by promising him a wife who was “an expert typist.” Prabhupada wrote, “Now that you will be coming to visit me soon [in Los Angeles], we shall discuss your [italics are mine] plans of marriage. I think this is a good idea and you will require a wife who is an expert typist to be your secretary. Such a wife with good typing ability will be a great asset in your writing activities. So when you arrive we can discuss this further.” [Endnote vii]
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada had picked out a suitable wife for Hayagriva, but refused to discuss the matter further until his disciple visited him in Los Angeles: “So far your marriage idea, I think you should marry, and all questions concerning this we shall discuss when you come here to visit me on the 13th of December. It will be very nice that you shall visit here for your [Ohio State University Christmas] vacation, and I shall be very happy to talk with you again.” [Endnote viii]
In a letter to another disciple, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada named Hayagriva’s betrothed and the date for their wedding: “On Christmas day, Hayagriva and Shama dasi are to be married in Los Angeles and this is very encouraging because we will welcome the arrival of nice Krishna conscious children to carry on this movement for which we are laying ground.” [Endnote ix]
Shama dasi
Cheryl Ann Morris was born on December 12, 1946 and joined ISKCON in San Francisco at the age of twenty. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada accepted Shama devi dasi as his daughter and disciple at her initiation ceremony in 1967. He wrote to her, “When I initiated you, I accepted you on that very moment as my daughter. So you are eternally my daughter and I am your father. There is no doubt about it. And our relationship is based on Krishna consciousness, so the more successful you preach and help Krishna consciousness movement, the more our relationship in transcendental platform is firm and fixed up. Our business is to chant and glorify the Holy Name of Krishna and wherever we may remain, Krishna is with us, Krishna is within your heart, Krishna is within my heart. So, spiritually there is no question of separation, even physically we may be in far distant place. So I am very glad that you are taking more and more interest in this movement, and I pray to Krishna that you be fixed up in that position, eternally.” [Endnote x]
Polaroid photo of Hayagriva’s wife, Cheryl Ann Morris Wheeler (Shama dasi) at New Vrindaban (July 1969).
Hayagriva is defeated by his spiritual master
As noted earlier, Hayagriva did not want to get married, at least not to a woman. When he arrived in Los Angeles to meet his spiritual master, he discovered that his bride had already been picked. He tactfully wrote about his visit with his spiritual master in Los Angeles and his wedding ceremony in his 1985 book, The Hare Krishna Explosion, “The matter was settled before my arrival; the girl, already picked, is named Shama dasi [Cheryl Ann Morris]. I recall having seen her in the San Francisco temple. She is tall, very pretty, blonde brahmacharini. ‘You American boys are liking tall girls?’ Prabhupada asks me, laughing. He marries us in the La Cienega temple on Christmas Day, 1968. The feast after the wedding is magnificent. We eat beneath a flower-festooned canopy, our clothes tied together, and Prabhupada beams with happiness, flashing smile upon smile.” [Endnote xi]
In his brief recollection above, Hayagriva neglected to mention that immediately prior to the wedding ceremony he had argued with his spiritual master. He didn’t want to get married and he passionately protested. In answer, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada quietly took his professor disciple into his office and shut the door.
According to one source, before traveling to Los Angeles to meet his spiritual master, Hayagriva had reportedly prepared a detailed rebuttal to Prabhupada’s marriage offer. However, when he met Prabhupada personally to present his argument, Prabhupada allegedly tricked Hayagriva into accepting a wife. The following excerpt from a 2007 lecture by a long-time New Vrindaban resident presented at ISKCON Silicon Valley tells a very entertaining story of how Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada tricked his reluctant disciple, Hayagriva, into submitting to his marriage proposal. The story is entertaining, but is it factual? [Endnote xii] Radhanath Swami (Richard Slavin), initiated at New Vrindaban in February 1973, explained:
At one time . . . Prabhupada wanted him [Hayagriva] to [get married]. [Endnote xiii] . . . And Hayagriva was adamantly against [getting married]. . . . But he had already heard from other sources that Prabhupada was going to ask him. So he planned a whole strategy of arguments to convince Prabhupada that he [should not get married]. . . . He actually spent a week, just making his strategy, with all the arguments, scriptural quotes, social reasons, personal reasons.
And he’s a professor [at Ohio State University]. So he went into Prabhupada’s room [at ISKCON Los Angeles]. He had memorized, he had prayed, he was armed. There was no way that he was going to [get married]. . . . Anything but that! So Prabhupada says to him, “There’s a service I would like you to render.” And he says, “Yes, Prabhupada? What? What would you like?” And Prabhupada said, “I want you . . . to take sannyasa.” It was like a flaming arrow that just pierced his chest, went right into the core of his heart and set it on fire. He was totally bewildered and off balance. He said, “Prabhupada! No! No! I am not qualified!”
Prabhupada said, “No! No! You are qualified.” He [Hayagriva] said, “No! No! Prabhupada! I have so many lusty desires.” Prabhupada said, “Well you can be purified. Just keep chanting.” And he said, “Prabhupada, I . . . I . . . I can’t do it.” Prabhupada said, “You should take sannyasa. I have already decided. There is no arguments.” And he was just dumfounded. And he cried, “Please, please! Please don’t make me take sannyasa!”
And Prabhupada said, “Well, . . . you don’t have to take sannyasa if you [get married]. . . . .” And Hayagriva said, “That’s just the service I wanted to do, Prabhupada. I’ll be so grateful to [get married].” [Endnote xiv]
In light of more-recent eyewitness accounts (we must remember that Radhanath, at the time of Hayagriva and Shama dasi’s wedding, was an eighteen-year-old senior student at Deerfield High School in Illinois and had not yet met the Krishna devotees), it appears that Radhanath’s entertaining story is fictional. On the other hand, Nara Narayana (Nathan Baruch Zakheim), [Endnote xv] initiated in San Francisco in September 1968, who three months later attended the wedding ceremony and feast, described a very different and undoubtedly more accurate scenario than the fanciful account told by Radhanath.
Nara Narayana noted, “Hayagriva went to see Prabhupada. ‘Shama dasi’s parents want a marriage license,’ he said. ‘All right,’ said Prabhupada. ‘But what if it doesn’t work out?’ asked Hayagriva. So Prabhupada took Hayagriva into his office and closed the door.” [Endnote xvi]
The two men remained in the office for about an hour. According to Nara Narayana, the wedding ceremony was delayed “at least an hour” while Hayagriva and Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada spoke behind the closed door of Prabhupada’s office. [Endnote xvii] The entire wedding ceremony was delayed. None of the devotees nor the guests knew what was happening behind the closed door.
We do not know exactly what the spiritual master and disciple discussed, but when Hayagriva finally left Prabhupada’s office and returned to the waiting wedding party, his face had turned the color of pale gray ash. He had been “burned” by Prabhupada’s scorching words in his spiritual master’s office. Nara Narayana explained, “When Hayagriva came out of Prabhupada’s office, he was ‘ashen.’” [Endnote xviii]
A gray or pale tint to the skin (pallor) is caused by a lack of oxygen or blood flow. It appears that Hayagriva had gone into shock—an acute medical condition and state of profound depression of the vital processes associated with reduced blood volume and pressure. Other symptoms include rapid heartbeat, shallow and rapid breathing, cold and sweaty skin, dilated pupils, dry mouth, anxiety, fatigue and confusion.
Shock can be caused by severe injuries, hemorrhage, or burns. It can also be caused by traumatic psychological experiences, such as sudden emotional stress. It appears that Hayagriva went into shock simply from hearing the words of his guru. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada liked to joke that he could be “as soft as a rose and hard as a thunderbolt.” Prabhupada must have been terribly angry with his disobedient disciple, and undoubtedly gave him a severe verbal chastisement. Hayagriva, in response, had been traumatized by his master’s scolding, almost as if he had been struck by lightning. Essentially, Prabhupada had beaten his disciple into submission by exerting his considerable charismatic power over his disciple.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada expected his disciples to obey his every order, even an order to get married. Whether or not a disciple liked their spouse should make no difference: the disciples’ only consideration should be how to please Krishna and the bona fide spiritual master. During an April 1972 room conversation, Prabhupada explained that the disciple must follow the order of the spiritual master, even in the case of entering into an arranged marriage with a spouse you know nothing about. Prabhupada noted:
You know our Jagattarini, wife of Bhurijana? She was a theatrical girl and earning millions of dollars, [Endnote xix] but she has given up everything. You have seen his wife, you all, Bhurijana’s wife? She is a nice girl, educated, qualified. But she is satisfied. I asked her to go and marry Bhurijana. He never saw her. She never saw him. What kind of husband she is going to accept? But simply on my word, she came, and she came from Los Angeles to Hong Kong [Endnote xx] and got married.
Similarly I am asking one [other] girl, she is a French girl, Mandakini. So I am asking her to go to Russia and marry one boy. She has never seen. So they obey in such a way. The [non-devotee] Western boys and girls, they want to see [their future spouse] and behave [nonsense] before marrying. But they [my disciples] are so obedient that without any consideration [they follow my order]. Because marriage or no marriage, that is not their consideration. The only consideration is how to please Krishna and his representative. [Endnote xxi]
Another time, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada praised the obedient wife of a householder disciple, “You have to take care of your wife. She has surrendered. On my word she went to marry you. She’s so nice girl. That is unique in the Western countries. She never saw you previously. Simply I told her, ‘Go and marry that boy.’ So she went.” [Endnote xxii] Nara Narayana remembered the wedding of Hayagriva and Shama dasi in great detail:
YES, INDEED I WAS THERE! I was invited to a late lunch/dinner at Srila Prabhupada’s nice second-story apartment on (I think) Whitmore Street, where discussion of the publication of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is was taking place. (I had earlier heard that Hayagriva had mentioned that he was possibly interested in getting married. This may have been part of the negotiation to return the stolen Gita manuscript to Srila Prabhupada. I had no idea if Hayagriva was actually interested in marriage or not, or just “talking.”)
We were all sitting in a row, with Srila Prabhupada also in the row with us. (It seems that the row was elevated about two feet above the floor, as the excellent prasadam was being served by Shama dasi. From the left to the right, was Srila Prabhupada, Hayagriva, myself, and others to my right. She had cooked it, and it was delicious!
Srila Prabhupada asked Hayagriva how he liked the taste of the prasadam. Hayagriva was serious and chewing away, and said gruffly, “It is very nice!” (in an abstract sort of mood). Srila Prabhupada “elegantly” and “grandly” stated: “Being able to cook is the first qualification of a good wife!”
Hayagriva (whose mind was obviously elsewhere) “choked,” turned, and stared at Srila Prabhupada! Shama dasi (who appeared to have been “in the loop” before the gathering) also stared at both Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva!
Hayagriva, started to offer some sort of objections, but they went nowhere! (We were all dumbfounded, thunderstruck and amazed! How could a disciple object to the order of the spiritual master?) [Endnote xxiii]
Nara Narayana’s eyewitness account noted above suggests that when Hayagriva sat down for lunch/dinner with his spiritual master at Los Angeles ISKCON, he had no idea that Shama dasi had been chosen to become his wife, although she obviously had been notified in advance and had undoubtedly agreed to the match. Nara Narayana continued his recollection of the wedding of Hayagriva and Shama dasa:
FAST FORWARD to the ISKCON temple at 1975 South La Cienega Boulevard: I built a platform using plywood over milk crates—in the temple room to the left of the altar—and then draped quilting and cloth over the structure. Then I made a canopy over the whole arena (about 15 x 15 feet square) which was held up by vertical poles wrapped in cloth. (We had practically no money, so I had to use things available around the temple’s various rooms.)
I used loose bricks to build a fire sacrifice arena, and then filled it with fresh sand, collected twigs and branches for the sacred fire, etc. The ladies and pujaris draped long flower garlands around the arena, so that the end result was surprisingly elegant, considering our general lack of resources.
I had no idea how many people would attend, and on the day of the wedding it turned out that some of Hayagriva’s family and a number of Shama’s family turned up, and ended up seated around the sacred fire, with Srila Prabhupada sitting on cushions to the right hand side of the platform (as one would see coming into the front doors of the temple, which previously was a Baptist church).
The wedding had been delayed, as there was a private meeting in another place, with Srila Prabhupada seated among the parents and relatives of the bride and groom, and Hayagriva wanted to put some clause in the marriage agreement should there be a divorce! Srila Prabhupada explained that in Krishna consciousness there is no such thing as divorce, so this became quite an issue among all of the “not so friendly” members of both sides of the wedding party! (I was not present, as it was “family only” meeting, plus—of course—Srila Prabhupada!)
Somehow, the issues were all resolved, and the grouchy family members gathered up on the platform (it was a bit of a tight fit!) with Srila Prabhupada to the right hand side of the canopied platform. (He had a microphone.) The air was so thick with tension that one could practically cut it with a knife! (Most of the guests had never sat in a “lotus position” on the floor before, and some who were a bit plump did not appear to be overly comfortable!)
For most of us devotees, this was the first devotee wedding we had attended, so we were largely unsure as to how it would proceed. (It turned out to be basically like an initiation ceremony.) All the devotees were present in their best dhotis and saris, the cooks were feverishly working in the kitchen to make the offering!
Those seated on the wedding platform were clearly uncertain and not sure that they wanted to be there. No one knew what would happen next, as the tension built and the basically angry and disgruntled parents and relatives of the bride and groom were building tension from the confining space where they were seated on the platform surrounding the decorated and nicely situated bride and groom, who sat next to Srila Prabhupada.
Among the guests up on the wedding platform, tension filled the air, and had become almost unbearable! (This was obviously not a Christian wedding!) As the tension began to build up to a point of extreme outcomes, Srila Prabhupada grandly leaned forward to the microphone (which was in front of the layout arrangement for the sacred fire), and powerfully uttered—(his voice seemed to come like firm but gentle thunder from the sky)—“I AM THE MATCHMAKER!”
Just as in sastra, a “Transcendental Voice from the Sky” appeared, and was decisively not of mere “human” origin. The tension on the platform VANISHED in an instant, and warmth and surrender flooded into the room! [Endnote xxiv]
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada presented a lecture for the benefit of Hayagriva, Shama dasi, the assembled devotees and guests, and warned the couple not to take marital disagreements too seriously: quarrels between husband and wife were to be expected, but the couple should always remain together. “So this quarrel of husband and wife is not very serious thing. So I’ll request you, even [when] there is some misunderstanding, forget it. Don’t take it seriously.” Prabhupada spoke:
So today’s wedding ceremony between Sriman Hayagriva Brahmachari and Srimati Shama dasi is practically negotiated by me. I am the marriage maker and I am the negotiator also. How? Because I have started this Krishna consciousness movement in this country to make people happy: happy in this life, happy in next life. . . .
So our principle is to make people God conscious; thereby they will be happy. And the method is very simple. Just like we do not deny anything. We give nice wife, we give nice husband, we give nice foodstuff, we give nice philosophy, and at last, we give the nicest thing, Krishna. So our program is very nice. Any gentleman come and discuss with us. We shall prove this is the nicest program at the present moment.
So I am very happy that Professor Howard Wheeler, he is very obedient student. And by God’s grace, Krishna’s grace, we practically met on the street. You see, when I first started my class in New York, 26 Second Avenue, I was just going out after entering the storefront and this boy met me. He asked me, “Swamiji, you are coming from India?” And I told him, “Yes, my dear boy.” So that was our first acquaintance, and I think that is eternal. That is eternal.
Similarly, this girl also met me in San Francisco, and she is very faithfully living with this Society. She is very mild. So I have selected: “Shama dasi, you should marry Hayagriva.” So they have agreed. And there is no separation. Our relationship is eternal. There is no separation. And this marriage is primarily for advancing Krishna consciousness. Bodily relationship is secondary. That is not a very important thing. Our first engagement is Krishna consciousness.
So in this happy ceremony, I have got my heartfelt blessings upon you. You be happy. Our parents are present here. It is a very nice arrangement. And forget... In any circumstances... This material world we have to pass through many circumstances, but sometimes, even it is intolerable, we have to tolerate. So according to Hindu conception of life, even [when] there is some misunderstanding between husband and wife, it is not taken very seriously. Never taken very seriously. . . .
But according to Vedic system, husband and wife, united together, there cannot be any separation. Perhaps you have heard the name of Mahatma Gandhi. He was married when he was student, sixteen years old, and his wife was also of the same age. Later on Mahatma Gandhi became a very famous man. So one day there was husband and wife quarrel. So Mahatma Gandhi, he has written in his own biography, he drove away the wife: “You get out from my house.” So the wife got out of the house and was crying in the street, “Where shall I go?” And again Mahatma Gandhi went there [in the street], “Come on [back inside].” So even there was quarrel between Mahatma Gandhi and his wife. So this quarrel of husband and wife is not very serious thing.
So I’ll request you, even [when] there is some misunderstanding, forget it. Don’t take it seriously. Simply you concentrate on Krishna consciousness business. You have got nice business now, both of you, conjointly working for editing my Srimad-bhagavatam. You consult in that business and live peacefully. You are educated, she is also educated. If there is any misunderstanding, don’t take it seriously. That is my request. Besides that, I am always at your service, I am always [here] to help you. So this marriage ceremony is very happy occasion. I shall request all friends, relatives, parents, to give their blessings to this nice couple and let us perform [the ceremony]. [Endnote xxv]
Nara Narayana continued his recollection of the wedding of Hayagriva and Shama dasi:
After the wedding ceremony, the feast was served, and it was eaten with great relish and in extreme celebratory mood, by all who attended. Srila Prabhupada had moved up to the front edge of the altar (about two feet from the ground, like a stage area) just behind the wedding platform, and he was FEASTING with true abandon! His incredible taking of prasadam, in that “post nuptial” atmosphere, was clearly a “Cosmic Event,” and he ate with complete abandon and relished every bite openly and with great celebration!
Finally, after eating a huge amount of prasadam, Srila Prabhupada sat up, and spoke into the microphone in front of him, surrounded by devotees facing him (who were also eating outrageously), “I am actually full, and now I am eating just for the taste!” (This was obviously in “violation” of his always cautioning “NEVER eat after you are full.”)
He began throwing sandesh, gulabjamuns, rasgulas, and other sweets out from his still heaping, replenished plate to devotees sitting in front of him, which they eagerly caught and devoured with abandon and delight! (The transcendental sound of “I AM THE MATCHMAKER” was still ringing silently in everyone’s ears!)
Postlude: the Gita went on to Macmillan Publishers to be printed, and Shama dasi went to live in Columbus Ohio and New Vrindaban with her new husband, and except for the fallible, human manifestation of the unsurrendered elements within the hearts of those who had gathered there in New Vrindaban to serve Lord Krishna, all went extraordinarily well! [Endnote xxvi]
According to Hanuman dasa (Henri Jolicoeur), who first met Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1969, Umapati (Wallace Sheffey) told him that Kirtanananda Swami and Umapati had attended the wedding and between themselves quietly snickered at the irony of their friend’s predicament: a gay man forced to marry a woman. Henri Jolicoeur explained:
I opened the first ISKCON temple in Paris with Umapati, who insisted on having the title of “The President” of the Paris Yatra when we were both living under bridges in Paris. We were the only two devotees in Paris at the time.
Umapati sometimes told me stories about his early life in ISKCON. Several times he told me about the marriage of Hayagriva and Shama dasi. This is how I heard it from Umapati:
Umapati said, “The marriage and fire sacrifice was going on. Swami Bhaktivedanta was performing the marriage ceremony. Hayagriva at one point was crying with great heaviness. He was even sobbing. And Kirtanananda and I were chuckling quietly between ourselves, because we knew very well that Howard was as gay as they come.” [Endnote xxvii]
On the other hand, Umapati Swami claimed that he did not attend the wedding, “I heard about Hayagriva’s wedding, but I did not attend. I don’t remember where I was when all this happened. I did not attend the wedding. I did go to Los Angeles after the wedding, but Hayagriva and Shama had already gone to New Vrindaban. ‘Your friend has just gotten married,’ Prabhupada told me. I only met Shama once, before all this happened. I was living in Los Angeles at the temple on Pico Boulevard. Shama and her parents came for lunch. They had just come back from Mexico. I never saw her again. I don’t even remember what she looked like.” [Endnote xxviii]
Nara Narayana, who attended the wedding, also didn’t think that Umapati and Kirtanananda Swami attended the wedding. “I am not sure if Umapati attended the wedding of Hayagriva and Shama dasi. I think not. Kirtanananda NEVER moved from New Vrindaban in those days! It would have been ‘weird’ for a sannyasi to attend a wedding ceremony, no?” [Endnote xxix]
The reader will note that several of the interviewees mentioned earlier contradicted each other. This is not surprising, since the wedding of Hayagriva and Shama dasi took place over a half century ago, and human memory is not infallible. In order to confirm or disprove some of the testimonies, I contacted Gargamuni (Gregory Scharf), who served as the temple president for ISKCON Los Angeles around that time, but Gargamuni declined to comment. He wrote, “Of course I have knowledge of the back story to all of this drama, but I do not wish to discuss it.” [Endnote xxx]
Shama dasa leaves California
In January 1969, Shama dasi came to live with her new husband in Columbus, Ohio, and New Vrindaban, West Virginia. Her principle service was typing Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s manuscripts. Three days a week she lived in Ohio while her husband taught classes at Ohio State University, and four days a week she lived in West Virginia. At New Vrindaban she served as the secretary for the community. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada wrote to Hayagriva, “So far Shama dasi is concerned, she is very good girl, and I am very much pleased to hear that she is typing so nicely the Srimad-bhagavatam. You are good couple, work combinedly in this way.” [Endnote xxxi]
One of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust officers praised her and a co-worker: “Shama dasi and Arundhati were just typing fourteen hours a day in Columbus, and they were getting at least twenty manuscript pages done [per day].” [Endnote xxxii]
Shama dasi also cooked for her husband and the New Vrindaban devotees and assisted in serving the deities. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada acknowledged her: “I am glad to hear that you are helping out in tending the deities. This is very spiritually beneficial engagement and, along with chanting the required number of rounds of Hare Krishna. Krishna is sure to give you all facilities to perfect your life in full Krishna consciousness.” [Endnote xxxiii]
A recipe for disaster?
Why did Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada arrange a marriage between a homosexual man and an unsuspecting and innocent woman who was unaware of her husband’s sexual orientation? Wasn’t this a recipe for disaster in the future? One disciple expressed his opinion: he thought Prabhupada arranged and ordered the marriage of Hayagriva and Shama dasi to help instill a healthy, wholesome, socially-accepted heterosexual family atmosphere at New Vrindaban. Nara Narayana explained:
It appears to me that Hayagriva had NO reason to come to Los Angeles, except to negotiate the return of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is manuscript to Srila Prabhupada (as far as I know). It is my conjecture that the (heterosexual) wedding was largely to “seal the deal” as it created a “heterosexual” interface between the clearly homosexual tone of Kirtanananda and Hayagriva as the founders and maintainers of New Vrindaban.
Shama dasi unwittingly replaced Kirtanananda as Hayagriva’s “wife.” Srila Prabhupada must have known that having two homosexual lovers (or former lovers) in charge of New Vrindaban would have stifled the growth of New Vrindaban, as most participants were either heterosexual or celibate. There was no way to avoid the fact that a homosexual “couple” had created New Vrindaban, and that their “friendship” and “collaborative partnership” controlled the thinking and emotional atmosphere of that tiny, remote, rural community.
Shortly after the marriage of Hayagriva and Shama dasi, heterosexual couples began to “flood” into New Vrindaban, leading to rapid expansion and the eventual purchase of new lands. Perhaps Srila Prabhupada knew about the past homosexual relationship between Kirtanananda and Hayagriva, and he ordered Hayagriva to get married to help make the atmosphere at New Vrindaban favorable for householders and children. This is just my conjecture, based only on personal observation. [Endnote xxxiv]
Another disciple, Henri Jolicoeur (formerly Hanuman Swami) shared his thoughts about the marriage of Hayagriva and Shama dasi:
The strange thing is that although Swami Bhaktivedanta was openly homophobic, at the same time he was surrounded from the very beginning by homosexuals like Kirtanananda, Hayagriva, Umapati, Bhavananda, Sudama, Omkara, on and on. Maybe he was extremely naïve like a child, or maybe he wanted to “engage them,” with the results that we now know: disaster.
A lusty brahmachari could not get married as a homosexual; the only way out for him was either sannyasa or a sham marriage (as in the cases of Sudama, Hayagriva, Umapati and Omkara), with the resultant suffering that it entailed for the women so sacrificed. In these circumstances, these men were forced to repress their sexual identity even more, creating a disastrous situation for themselves and the people under their charge. Some of them even had sex with their initiated disciples, as in the recent case of Umapati. . . . [Endnote xxxv]
There is no denying that Swami Bhaktivedanta was highly homophobic. I personally heard him make very negative remarks on the homosexual lifestyle on at least ten occasions. . . . Was he so extremely naïve that he could not see how so many homosexuals and lesbians were in his service? Or was he so merciful that he wanted to engage everyone in the service of Krishna, including homosexuals, and could not foresee the disasters of sexual abuse that his policy would create for adults, and especially for the children?
The result was that homosexual pedophiles were even named among the original eleven successor gurus, with the consequences now known to everyone. At least two lifelong homosexual men, Kirtanananda and Bhavananda, were also pedophiles, which resulted in so many kids’ lives being destroyed, some of them even committing suicide. [Endnote xxxvi]
Henri Jolicoeur later recalled, “I remember one occasion in Calcutta in late 1970: Kirtanananda told Swami Bhaktivedanta, ‘Now some churches in America are marrying men with men.’ Swami Bhaktivedanta seemed scandalized and replied, ‘Just see how degraded religions have become. Now they are marrying men to men.’” [Endnote xxxvii]
At the time of the wedding, in December 1968, neither Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, nor Hayagriva, nor Shama dasi could possibly foresee what the future might bring. As will be discussed in subsequent Gold, Guns and God volumes, Shama was unhappy in her marriage. Hayagriva sometimes beat her when she was unsubmissive, and he had multiple male sex partners less than a year after their wedding. This was reported by Henri Jolicoeur (and others), who explained:
I did not know Hayagriva, although I liked his writing in the old Back To Godhead magazines. I only met him once, in England in September 1969. My encounter with Hayagriva occurred when Swami Bhaktivedanta was living at the historic early Georgian country house situated on John Lennon’s 72-acre Tittenhurst Park with about ten of us disciples. We lived in the servants’ quarters: various little houses in the back of the main house where John and Yoko were living. And Yamuna had created a temple in a big room where Swami would lecture for a few weeks.
One night Hayagriva was on his way to see Swami Bhaktivedanta with a few of us, including Umapati. Suddenly Umapati started berating Hayagriva, saying in a loud voice, “Why are you still having homosexual relationships?” And Hayagriva shouted back to Umapati, “Mind your own business. Who are you? Mother Theresa?”
A few minutes later I quietly asked Umapati what this was all about, but he said nothing. I was a new devotee, only nineteen years old. I was not supposed to know those secrets. Later on I did wonder if Umapati and Hayagriva might have been lovers in their New York City Mott Street days.” [Endnote xxxviii]
Shama dasi returns to California
On July 11 1970, Hayagriva and Shama dasi had their first child, a son (Devon Wheeler) whom Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada named Samba. [Endnote xxxix] He predicted that the boy would become a great preacher. Prabhupada wrote to Hayagriva: “Please offer my blessings to your good wife Shama dasi and your growing boy Samba, and I can hardly wait until he grows big enough to defeat all the Mayavadis.” [Endnote xl] Later, the couple had a second son, Hari Prasad (Walter Wheeler).
Unfortunately, the marital relationship between Hayagriva and Shama appeared to be stressed. As will be seen in Chapter 22, Hayagriva resigned his position as temple president and left New Vrindaban in May 1972. After spending a few months in India with his spiritual master, he came to Los Angeles where he served as one of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s book editors. Unfortunately, Hayagriva left ISKCON and his service to Prabhupada to gratify his senses. After some time, he become frustrated again by the suffering inherent in unrestrained sense gratification, and he returned to his spiritual master back in Los Angeles. In October 1975, he asked his wife and children to move from New Vrindaban to Los Angeles.
Hayagriva wrote to Prabhupada that he was “especially feeling separation” for his eldest son. Hayagriva explained, “In October I am, by Krishna’s grace, bringing Shama dasi and two sons to California to be with me, as I am especially feeling separation from Samba, my eldest boy. He is five now, and I strongly want him with me. I will lodge some devotees in the New Vrindaban house and at least temporarily stay in California.” [Endnote xli]
Shama and her children came to California to live with Hayagriva, after a brief sojourn in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, it appears that within a year she became upset with her husband’s philandering with young homosexual men. Years later her youngest son remembered, “My mother told me that my father would have guests visit and he would lock the door to his room.” [Endnote xlii]
This was too much for Shama to bear; she abandoned her “marriage,” and rejected her spiritual master, who had ordered her to marry a man who she later discovered was innately homosexual and unable to control his senses. [Endnote xliii] When Shama left, she took her two young children with her. According to one report, she began associating with non-devotees, including omnivores (this must refer to her parents in San Francisco). Associating with non-devotees is strictly prohibited for one following the path of Bhakti.
This new development caused pain to Kirtanananda Swami back in New Vrindaban, who had developed a great affection (some claimed an obsessive and sinister affection) for Hayagriva’s eldest son. Kirtanananda demanded that the five-year-old boy be returned to him in West Virginia. In June 1976, Kirtanananda Swami traveled to Los Angeles, where he met with Hayagriva and ordered him to kidnap his eldest son from his wife and bring the boy back to New Vrindaban. Kirtanananda said that he would personally take care of Samba once he was returned to the West Virginia commune.
A week later, Kirtanananda met with Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in Toronto and spoke with his spiritual master about the failed marriage of Hayagriva and Shama dasi. Prabhupada appeared surprised to hear this. It seems that he had no idea that there had been difficulty in their marriage. He said, “I thought that he [Hayagriva] is happy in family life.” This suggests that Prabhupada had no idea that his professor disciple possessed a powerful and life-long homosexual orientation. Years earlier Prabhupada had told Hayagriva that chanting the Holy Names and worshiping the deity would help him control “Mr. Lust.” Obviously, after a decade of chanting Hare Krishna, Hayagriva’s natural sexual appetite had not been diminished. The June 1976 conversation between Prabhupada and Kirtanananda Swami was recorded on magnetic tape:
Prabhupada: ...Hayagriva.
Kirtanananda: I think he’s in Los Angeles.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Kirtanananda: I’m trying to get him to bring his boy to New Vrindaban. He’s down there with those meat eaters.
Prabhupada: She is not agreeable? I think that she is not very well treated by her husband.
Kirtanananda: No.
Prabhupada: Therefore... Otherwise, she is a good girl.
Kirtanananda: Hayagriva’s very (indistinct).
Prabhupada: I know she is a good girl. He has disrupted his family also.
Kirtanananda: If a devotee doesn’t follow the principles, then he is sure to suffer. Nothing can be gained in his family life.
Prabhupada: I thought that he is happy in family life. His father and mother came to congratulate him [at their wedding in Los Angeles eight years ago].
Kirtanananda: He was better in Los Angeles when I saw him last week than I’ve seen him in a long time.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Kirtanananda: He never lost his sentiment for you.
Prabhupada: No, that I know. Therefore I like.
Kirtanananda: But he’s addicted to his bad habits.
Prabhupada: He’ll be corrected. There is no hopelessness.
Kirtanananda: I’ve always felt that, but it makes it difficult to live with him in the meantime. (laughter) [Endnote xliv]
Hayagriva got his opportunity to fulfill Kirtanananda Swami’s request when Shama went to visit her mother in San Francisco and left her eldest son temporarily in her husband’s custody. Hayagriva immediately spirited Samba back to New Vrindaban without her knowledge or permission. This was too much for Shama to bear. After more than five years of marriage, she left her husband and the Hare Krishna movement, taking with her her youngest son, Hari Prasada (Walter).
At first, she moved in with her mother in San Francisco. She also more-or-less rejected the Hare Krishna doctrine and practices, although she treasured many of her memories of her time in ISKCON and sometimes attended ISKCON functions like the annual Ratha Yatra Cart Festival in San Francisco.
In time, Cheryl moved into a New Age community near Sebastopol, California, about an hour’s drive north from San Francisco. She met a heterosexual man who cared for her and her young son, and they lived together in a common-law marriage for many years. She wrote a book about her time in ISKCON, titled Mind Rape. She passed away on September 8, 2004.
Kirtanananda Swami and Samba
During the summer of 1976 in New Vrindaban, Kirtanananda Swami personally cared for Samba, as Hayagriva had soon departed for his customary recreational travels to India, Mexico and Thailand. Years later, Samba explained, “My father and mother were separated when I was five years old. . . . [Kirtanananda] took care of me, because my regular father . . . wasn’t there. I didn’t have a father. My father wasn’t around much. Kirtanananda treated me like a father.” [Endnote xlvi]
Kirtanananda treated the boy like his own son, sometimes sleeping with the boy under his sleeping bag which was used as a blanket in his Bahulaban cabin. Some claim he molested the boy, although Samba consistently and repeatedly denied the allegations.
Kirtanananda Swami samples his Sunday feast plate at Bahulaban, while his seven-year-old protégé, the first-born son of Hayagriva and Shama dasi, patiently waits for remnants (c. 1977).
In 1979, Cheryl returned to West Virginia with a court order and a Marshall County deputy to retrieve her son (she was concerned about her son’s health and safety), but Kirtanananda Swami had somehow received advance notice, and ordered that the child be hidden. Cheryl returned to California empty handed and empty hearted.
Henri Jolicoeur offered some concluding thoughts regarding the marriage of Hayagriva and Shama dasi, “The whole marriage thing was so sad for the lady. It makes me wonder: did Swami Bhaktivedanta think that marriage was a cure to Hayagriva’s homosexuality? He seems to have not even inquired if Hayagriva was gay or not. Did he know? I wonder. The author [Henry Doktorski] says he has tried to present both sides of the story in Gold, Guns and God, but there are no two sides for that poor lady. She was set up by her so called “spiritual father” in a disastrous relationship. Any intelligent modern person reading this will, I hope, see how this so-called guru was using people that loved him and who were surrendered to him. He just threw them into the lion’s mouth.” [Endnote xlvii]
Yet others see no problem that Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada had ordered a homosexual disciple to marry a heterosexual woman without her being informed of her husband’s life-long sexual orientation. After all, as noted in Gold, Guns and God, Vol. 1, Chapter 9 (“The Spiritual Master Is Never At Fault”) the bona fide spiritual master is infallible. His will is nondifferent than Krishna’s will. He knows the mind of God. Therefore, to serve and obey the spiritual master is the life and soul of the sincere disciple.
Prabhupada explained in a Srimad-bhagavatam purport: “To execute the will of the spiritual master, the disciple should be prepared to lay down his [or her] life and abandon all personal considerations.” [Endnote xlviii] In other words, Shama dasi, when she accepted Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as her spiritual master at her initiation ceremony in 1967, vowed to give her life to the spiritual master and become an instrument of his will. Whether following the order of the guru brought happiness or distress in the future, that should be of no concern.
Like Lord Krishna, the spiritual master is completely free to do anything and everything he pleases. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explained in his Siksastakam Prayers, “I do not know anyone except Krishna as my Lord, and he shall always remain as such, even if he handles me roughly by his embrace; or he may make me broken hearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, but he is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally.” [Endnote xlix]
In other words, the transcendentalist who is truly humble and devoid of false ego sees everything, positive or negative, pleasurable or painful, as coming from Krishna and equally desirable. Prabhupada taught his disciples, when they are afflicted with pain and suffering, to think, “I deserve much worse torment than this. Krishna is very kind to me, by giving me only a token of what I deserve. I will never abandon the order of my spiritual master.”
Did Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ever express regret regarding his order to Hayagriva and Shama to marry? A normal non-devotee father, if he had forced his daughter to marry a man who turned out to be gay, would certainly regret his rash and faulty matchmaking order. If he truly loved his daughter, he would want her marriage to be a success; not a failure. Such a father might regret for the rest of his life forcing his daughter to marry an unqualified man.
On the other hand, a Krishna devotee would explain that bodily relationships, such as father/daughter, husband/wife, and parent/child are Maya (illusion). Only the relationship of the disciple with the spiritual master is real and eternal. All others are simply ephemeral. The spiritual master never regrets his order to his disciple. The spiritual master is a representative of Krishna, and the disciple believes he only speaks Krishna’s will. If there is any blame (and there is none) regarding the order of the guru, the blame goes to Krishna. But Krishna is all perfect and omniscient and all-loving. But one cannot see this unless one has transcended the bodily conception of life. All others are trapped in illusion.
Kailasa Chandra (Mark Goodwin), a disciple initiated at New Vrindaban in September 1972, explained why Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada would never experience mundane regret, “I approve of Srila Prabhupada’s decision to get Hayagriva married. He took a risk. It did not pay off, but taking a risk means that it may not pay off. It did not pay off, because Hayagriva, due to misuse of free will, refused to turn the corner. To pin Hayagriva’s outrages on Prabhupada is a travesty. Hayagriva, in the bad association of fellow homosexual Kirtanananda, engaged in what appeared to be morally reprehensible behavior with his wife. . . . Homosexuality can be overcome; otherwise, there is no meaning to changing character, which is intrinsic to the yogic process. Prabhupada gave Hayagriva a chance, and he blew it. Homosexuality has no redeeming feature in spiritual life. A maha-bhagavat, such as Srila Prabhupada, is never subject to mundane regret. [In her next life] Shama dasi will be VERY RICHLY REWARDED for what she endured when Hayagriva went from bad to worse.” [Endnote l]
Others also saw a permanent and lasting merit which resulted from the relatively-short relationship between Hayagriva and Shama dasi. Their youngest son, Hari Prasada (Walter Wheeler), noted, “I don’t have any recollection of my time in New Vrindaban as I was three years old when my mom left the Hare Krishna movement. All I have is the stories my mom told me. My mom had a lot of negative things to say about Kirtanananda and the movement when I was growing up, but she did love so much about it. I do remember her telling me several times about a vision/dream she had while in New Vrindaban. She told me, ‘You, Devon and I were floating away from New Vrindaban in a bubble.’ So that tells me she really wanted us to all be together as a family and she did her best to do so. Whether or not my dad was gay or bisexual, I’m not sure. Or if it was an arranged marriage, I’m not sure. There are obvious ups and downs to that system. But regardless of whether or not it was a love match, my brother and I were a result of the marriage, and for that I’m grateful.” [Endnote li]
Hari Prasada continued, “I don’t remember spending any time with my father, as my mom left the Hare Krishna movement with me when I was very young. I never met or spoke with him later in life either. I do remember, as a teenager, my mom telling me my dad wasn’t doing well and asked if I wanted to see him. I said ‘No,’ as I had my own things going on that summer of 1989 with friends, etc. I did feel some sadness of the idea of my father’s death, but I had no emotional connection with him.” [Endnote lii]
Endnotes
i. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Bruce Scharf (Brahmananda) (October 6, 1968).
ii. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva) (October 7, 1968).
iii. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, press interview (Dec. 30, 1968), Los Angeles.
iv. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Bruce Scharf (Brahmananda) (October 16, 1968).
v. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva) (November 8, 1968).
vi. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva) (November 18, 1968).
vii. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva) (November 24, 1968).
viii. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva) (November 30, 1968).
ix. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Uddhava (December 19, 1968).
x. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Cheryl Ann Morris (Shama dasi) (August 30, 1968).
xi. Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva), The Hare Krishna Explosion, 258-259.
Radhanath is a gifted storyteller, but his stories are often filled with exaggeration and hyperbole and they cannot be trusted as historically accurate, only as parables. It is entirely possible that this exchange between Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Hayagriva never happened.
The author wishes to tell his own story in this connection: On Sunday, June 21, 2009, shortly after the publication of Radhanath’s autobiography The Journey Home, the author attended a festival hosted by New Vrindaban at Schenley Plaza (now a parking lot) on Forbes Avenue between the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Carnegie Mellon University in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Radhanath Swami was the featured attraction: the guest speaker.
After the chanting/lecture/prasadam program, I approached Radhanath Swami, who was squatting on the sidewalk. I knew him since 1978 in New Vrindaban, and our relationship had always been friendly, respectful and cordial. He was talking with several devotees who were sitting on the lawn and gazing upon him with adoration, including Lila Suka dasi (Joy Crowells, a longtime New Vrindaban school teacher from Canada initiated in Toronto in July 1975) and others. I approached them in a jolly mood (they all knew me from my fifteen years as a New Vrindaban resident), squatted on the sidewalk next to Radhanath, and spoke, “I really enjoyed reading your autobiography, Maharaja! Such great stories. You are a world-class storyteller, no doubt!” Radhanath and the assembled devotees smiled.
However, their smiles dissipated when I continued, “I wonder however, were all those stories factual? Did you embellish or make up events to make a point or propel the story line forward?” An uncomfortable silence ensued. No one spoke. After a few tense moments, I realized that Radhanath was not going to answer my question. I tried to lighten the mood by saying, “Well, even if some parts of your book were made up, it’s still a great story with many lessons for aspiring Krishna Bhaktas.” I departed soon after, as I felt I had disturbed the reverential mood.
xv. Today Nara Narayana lives in Los Angeles near New Dwaraka.
Update: Nara Narayana died on January 1, 2023 at the age of 79 in Los Angeles. For more, see: Nara Narayana dasa.
xvii. Nathan Baruch Zakheim (Nara Narayana), email to the author (March 21, 2021).
xxiii. Nathan Baruch Zakheim (Nara Narayana), email to the author (March 21, 2021).
xxiv. Nathan Baruch Zakheim (Nara Narayana), email to the author (March 21, 2021).
xxvi. Nathan Baruch Zakheim (Nara Narayana), email to the author (March 21, 2021).
xxvii. Henri Jolicoeur (formerly Hanuman Swami), email to the author (September 26, 2013).
xxviii. Wallace Sheffey (Umapati Swami), email to the author (March 21, 2021).
xxix. Nathan Baruch Zakheim (Nara Narayana), email to the author (March 21, 2021).
xxx. Gregory Scharf (Gargamuni), cited by Jaya Govinda dasa, email to the author (March 20, 2021).
xxxi. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva) (March 18, 1969).
xxxiv. Nathan Baruch Zakheim (Nara Narayana), email to the author (March 21, 2021).
http://iskconnews.org/gbc-releases-statement-re-umapati-dasa,2580/ (accessed February 25, 2014).
xxxviii. Henri Jolicoeur (formerly Hanuman Swami), email to the author (March 22, 2021).
xl. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, letter to Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva) (November 8, 1970).
xli. Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva), letter to Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (September 23, 1975).
xlii. Walter Wheeler (Hari Prasada), telephone conversation with the author (April 1, 2021).
xlvi. Devon Wheeler (Samba), cited in Trial Transcript II, Day 2 (March 12, 1991), 226.
xlvii. Henri Jolicoeur (formerly Hanuman Swami), email to the author (March 22, 2021).
xlviii. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srimad-bhagavatam, 4.28.50, purport.
xlix. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Siksastakam (8).
l. Mark Goodwin (Kailasa Chandra), email to the author (March 23, 2021).
lii. Walter Wheeler (Hari Prasada), email to the author (May 21, 2020).
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