01/24/98 - 1531

Nara Narayan Says It's True

USA (VNN) - by Nara Narayan Vishwakarma das

Dear Puru das!

PAMHO AGTSP!

Somehow, you and I seem to be in the center of a raging battlefield having a picnic of sumptuous prasadam exchanging pleasantries as the battle rages over, under, and around us!

I sincerely thank you for your comments on the Chakra article regarding their headline concerning the note from Shayamasundhara das. You may imagine how painful it is for me to have to choose between the reverence that I have felt for these two godbrothers slightly senior to me and the need to establish a vein of accountability and truth within the ever-developing history of this movement.

For Shayamasundhara to try to vindicate Tamal is ridiculous, as he had been in perfect agreement with Tamal concerning what they considered to be Srila Prabhupada's "shortcomings." They were both very close to Srila Prabhupada and, I suppose, familiarity bred contempt.

Shyamasundhara had, at that time, been draining money from Bhaktivedanta Manor as well as "borrowing" 20,000.00 pounds sterling from George Harrison to fund his "ruby mine" deals in South India. (It was this betrayal by Shayamasundhara who George considered a sincere friend that prompted George to sever his ties with Iskcon) In 1974, I was commissioned by the GBC (through Jayatirtha) to investigate the various deities and altars that had been commissioned in Jaipur and Makrana (Rajasthan) by Shayamasundhara in behalf of a dozen or so temples in the United States. It turned out that only a small portion of the money given to him was left on deposit with the makers who were understandably enraged when I arrived at their workshops. All the progress payments had been collected by Shayamasundhara and letters had been sent by him to the temple presidents stating the progress of the work and how they had been fully paid for. He kept upwards of $60,000.00 in money entrusted to him by the temples to use for the Ruby mines.

I was staying in the Colaba Post office temple and was kept awake at night by loud and agry conversations that took place one night between him and Srila Prabhupada. Shayamasundhara was exasperated with Srila Prabhupada for not "understanding" that the ruby mines would bring Iskon all of the money that we ever wanted.

Srila Prabhupada sometimes calmly, sometimes with a raised voice tried (like a loving but exasperated father) to explain to his unruly ("son") that he was simply being cheated by two con men, and that there were no rubies. Shayamasundhara insisted and insisted that he had seen the rubies, and Srila Prabhupada firmly stated that they ones he had seen were planted and not from that mine. The next day, Shayamasundhara left the movement and took several hundred thousand dollars that he had either "borrowed" embezzled or misappropriated and bought the mines (which did indeed turn out to be fakes) He has not been in the movement since. The conversation in which he and Tamal were blaspheming Srila Prabhupada was a couple of days before he "Blooped" and I think that was in 1971 or 1972.

The following is a letter that I posted to Chakra last night after reading your posting to me. I am afraid that the bitter tone with which it starts was partly fueled by my sadness in receiving your posting before this one. Had I received your later one, I am sure I would have been in a more cheerful mood. Nonetheless, my words are my own responsibility. (I think that your response to Chakra was far better worded than my intro, for sure.)

CHAKRA'S NEED FOR TRUE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

Dear Chakra prabhus:

PAMHO AGTSP!

Since you advertise the Chakra format as a forum, and claim to be devoid of the vices of your much hated senior godbrothers, I hope that you will kindly publish my response to what seems to be a hate campaign mounted by Chakra against me. First of all, I did not create the words spoken by Tamal Krishna. He did. I understand that you asked him if he said such things. Are you surprised to discover that he was about as willing to admit to his words as O.J. Simplson was to killing his wife? Do you really think that if he said such things that he would cheerfully admit it to you or anyone? You should be aware that this extreme blasphemy was not an isolated incident and that there are many persons who heard Tamal say similar things on other occasions.

Jayapataka Swami wants us to believe that Tamal joyfully danced off to the Far East when ordered to do so by Srila Prabhupada. What JS neglects to inform your readers is that Tamal was being EXILED to the Far East by Srila Prabhupada for the OFFENSE of giving the Juhu Bombay land back to the Nair family. (When he said that Srila Prabhupada was "Old and senile and attached to the land, and that we would never be able to build on it, and that Srila Prabhupada simply couldn't understand that "it was in preparation to giving the land back to the Nair family) When Srila Prabhupada found out about Tamal's offensive blunder, he dragged TKS over the coals, ridiculed him in front of everyone and before TKS' very eyes paid more money to re purchase the land and then EXILED TKS to the Far East. TKS bluntly REFUSED TO obey Srila Prabhupada's order. He refused to Srila Prabhupada's face. He told S.P. that he couldn't go because of his service with the Radha Damodar bus activities. Srila Prabhupada told him to discontinue the Radha Damodar bus work (The busses had been creating havoc at the various temples that they visited) When TKS said "But this is my service", Srila Prabhupada replied, "then you have no service". It took a very senior disciple to explain to Tamal that Srila Prabhupada had basically excommunicated him for gross disobedience. It was only much later that Tamal finally agreed to go to the Far East, and then only on his own terms.

I would like to remind you that whatever is said by any party is witnessed by Lord Krishna as Supersoul in the heart of each and every one of us. If someone tells a lie, he can only lie to another human being. No one can successfully lie to Krishna. In that light I would caution personalities like Jayapataka Swami who know that what I have written is true not to represent that it is not simply for some temporary managerial goal. In the end the truth WILL come out, and it will be best to have been representing it all along when that occurs. Otherwise, such lies are a form of sinning on the strength of chanting and will diminish one's bodily luster as well as damage the growth of the devotional creeper that takes such care to develop while in this material world.

Your eternal servant,

Nara Narayan Vishwakarma das

Puru prabhu,

Jayapataka Swami KNOWS all of this! why on earth does he try to change history? Things like that worry me.

Your eternal servant,

Nara Narayan Vishwakarma das

NB I agree with you that it is time for the gurus to speak for themselves! It is they who are to be considered enlightened, not us lowly householders who seem to be doing their work for them.