07/29/98 - 1940

This Madness Must Be Stopped

VNN Editorial (VNN) - by Ameyatma das

I have no new information about Harikesh, but I have to say something, like Nalini Kanta who wrote a few days back, I am more then fed up with the whole mess. I wrote most of this letter last week and was going to send it anonymously, but held off. Now that another devotee has posted an article on VNN that expresses the same sentiment (VNN Article 1932 by Narasimha das) I decided to go ahead and send you my letter.

I do not know the devotee Narasimha (that I recall, anyway) and I have had very little association with Harikesh over the years. I understand that he has performed great service to Srila Prabhupada over the years. Whatever good there is in anyone must be considered first and given all due credit.

But, on the other hand, if there is in-propriety in a leader, we must attack the improper behavior vehemently, we must attack misrepresentation of our spotless philosophy, and we must attack inappropriate actions, not the individuals.

Therefore I question Badrinarayan's, and the GBC's, position regarding Harikesh Prabhu.

Writing officially on behalf of the entire GBC, Badrinarayan Prabhu wrote concerning Harikesh:

"As mentioned in my letter of 13 July, he has suffered from a total physical and mental collapse. In this condition, he has been saying many things that are incoherent, implausible. He has moments of lucidity and then moments where he is irrational. When he has his clear spells he regrets what he has said and asks that it be disregarded. We are all naturally very concerned by these events. What seems clear to those nearest him is that his nervous system has broken down after years of austerity, incredible pressure, and prolonged and multiple illnesses. It is understandable that the body and mind have their natural limits and he has pushed himself beyond them."

The above description sounds like that of a madman. He has suffered not just a physical collapse, but a mental collapse as well. He is saying things that are incoherent and implausible. He is irrational at times. His nervous system has broken down...

These are very grave and serious maladies.

Where I get very upset is that the "official" GBC view of this is that they have totally bent, twisted and broken our divine philosophy in trying to inappropriately protect one of their members. He later tells us that none of this is due to any fall down, that Harikesh has not fallen down, he has simply become an incoherent, irrational, lunatic at times. The GBC wants us to believe that this is all due to Harikesh having performed so many austerities for so many years. Austerities performed in carrying out his devotional service to his guru and Krishna. He pushed himself in execution of devotional service and as a result of this, he has suffered a total mental collapse and now speaks incoherently and irrational at times, saying absurd things that he latter tells everyone to disregard. That is the behavior of a madman.

Another devotee tells us that what he is saying is way over the hill. He says he is Krishna and a girl he wants to marry is Radha. The GBC remains silent. If this is what Harikesh is saying, this is sahajya, total nonsense. Even if this is not fully true, I don't have any way of knowing one way or the other, still, from even what Badri told us, I am still upset with the way the GBC has misrepresented this.

My point is that we must see everything with the eyes of shastra. Where in shastra does it say that the result of pushing oneself in pure devotional service to one's guru and Krishna will result in a total mental collapse? Where in shastra does it state that the result of austerity performed in the execution of pure devotional service will result in one becoming incoherent and irrational. Yes, actually that is there, but not in the way we are speaking of here. Lord Caitanya exhibited the perfection of madness of love for Krishna, but that is not the madness we are speaking about here. If the other devotee was correct, then it seems that Harikesh is not mad after Krishna, but mad after a vagina made of blood and puss and covered with pubic hairs. It sounds like he is mad with the idea of becoming not just the supreme controller of the BBT and the Mayapur city project, or of ISKCON, but now he has the grand illusion of actually being the Supreme Absolute Controller--period! I have no way of knowing if that is true or not, but even if it isn't that bad, still, just what Badri admits to is bad enough.

From shastra we understand that when a devotee has created a mad-elephant offense to the feet of his guru or other Vaishnava's, the result will be a collapse of that persons nervous system, they will go mad - speaking and acting irrationally.

I totally agree with Narasimha's assessment in this whole matter. What the GBC just stated, officially, in this regards is a total misrepresentation of our philosophy. What they have said is that Harikesh's mental collapse, his nervous breakdown is not a fall down, it is not due to any offensive action he may have taken, but instead is only due to his over exertion in executing pure devotional service. Stop this crazy madness.

That is NOT the result stated in shastra for such transcendental actions. Does the GBC expect us to swallow this total nonsense garbage?

The next time a GBC or TP asks the devotees to really put their full effort into distributing books, or to really push themselves to make the next ratha yatra or janmastami festival really nice, or any truly transcendental service, devotees can now quote from the chairman of the GBC, and refuse on the basis that if they push themselves too far, if they exert themselves too much, in performing devotional service, they will surely wind up like Harikesh and suffer a total mental nervous breakdown. I mean, this they can now quote from the acting chairman of the GBC, that if one overexerts himself in pure transcendental devotional service, he will surely have a mental collapse and begin to speak incoherently and irrationally and become a nervous wreck. This has now been stated as the official GBC point of view in this regards.

So, from now on, devotees had better use caution in exerting themselves in their devotional service. Book distributors had better not try to over do it. We had better take a real laid back, take-it-easy attitude or we will all wind up in straight jackets mumbling to the walls in incoherent irrational speech. (And not in the mood of the Gopis out of mad love for Krishna either).

Enough is enough. I am sick and tired of such garbage misrepresentation of our divine philosophy. What is obvious is that Harikesh has fallen down. Badri tries to tell us that to speak irrationally and say implausible things is NOT a fall down. With what shastric reference does he make such a bold new conclusion? Rather, I have always heard that you can tell how advanced one is by the words that he speaks. One pretender may act very elegantly, but when he speaks you can see how big a fool he is. But now we are to take Harikesh's irrational speech as some sort of transcendental ecstasy - the result of his performing pure transcendental service. You can tell how well one has understood the philosophy and applied it to one's life by the words one speaks. We are to know one's mind by his speech. That is our philosophy, but now, in order to protect another GBC-guru whose offenses have caused him to go over the edge, the GBC has had to concoct a new philosophy: that speaking totally irrationally and making implausible statements is not a fall down, but rather it is the result of rendering pure devotional service.

What is obvious is that another big, big guru has gone down, and the GBC just doesn't want to admit it. They just don't want to admit that something is really wrong with their whole off-the-wall party. Rather than to stick strictly to the philosophy, they have twisted and broken the philosophy in order to protect yet another fallen guru. They just don't want to admit that they have been wrong. It is obvious that a very really serious revamping of the whole current mess known as the GBC is needed. Rohini Kumar, an authorized guru was forced to remove himself after it was exposed that he asked an aspiring male disciple for gay sex. ...and just a month before the GBC was to approve Muralivadaka to become a new GBC-guru, finally the boys whom he had previously molested forced him to admit to it, and he was ousted by the community here. And now we see the GBC defending the implausible, incoherent and irrational behavior of another big GBC-guru, telling us these symptoms are not the results of fall down, but of performing pure devotional service. I would like to say that this is a joke, but this is not a joke, it is pure insane madness. This madness must be stopped.

Srila Prabhupada has said that our leaders, even the TPs, must be ABOVE SUSPICION. He has said that if a GBC has fallen, he must be removed. But, they will do any damn thing, twist everything all around, just to try and make us believe no fall down has taken place, therefore they are justified in not removing him. But, in doing so they are doing Srila Prabhupada a great disservice for they are misrepresenting our philosophy. Because of their misdeeds in handling this matter, maybe they all should be removed!!!

By shastra we understand that one goes mad and becomes irrational when one has made an elephant offense. Therefore the GBC should have defended shastra first, instead of defending the irrational behavior of another GBC-guru who has gone mad.

I don't mean to say that we should overlook his good qualities and his efforts to establish book distribution, but we can't overlook the obvious either.

Seeing through shastric eyes, the GBC should have immediately concluded that this was a reaction due to offenses. Then they should have examined what offense or offenses might have caused such a horrible reaction. Only then should they have spoken out to the community of Vaishnava's, who are obviously more intelligent than they give us credit for. They think we don't know the philosophy, they think they can tell us anything and we will accept it. Badri should have made note that shastra tells us that this behavior is the result of offenses, not of "over exerting" ones' self in devotional service.

We then must look to see what actions he had been currently engaged in that could have caused such a reaction. The most glaring possible candidate for making such a mad-elephant offense was the BBT court cases. Dragging Srila Prabhupada into the dark slimy stinking pit of open non-devotee courts to be striped naked of all dignity, to stand by while he is referred to no more than a hired servant of the BBT, and then to allow non-devotees to perform a delicate and very serious surgery on Prabhupada's heart. Spending 100's of 1,000's to sue another devotee - another dear disciple of Srila Prabhupada. Hamsadutta has had his fall downs as well, like all the rest of them, and us, but his biggest fault of late for the GBC to swallow has been his open position regarding the ritvik issue. If it were not for that one single issue, I am sure many of the GBC would have welcomed back his association into ISKCON. Because of that one issue, Harikesh has taken impetus to take Srila Prabhupada into the disgusting realm of karmi courts, strip him naked of all dignity, and operate on his heart in open public, misusing Prabhupada's own money, just to sue a life long trustee to the original BBT because he printed and distributed Prabhupada's books without Harikesh's permission. (I know I am taking liberty in dealing with a topic that I do not know many details about, but, I think the basic principle is well founded). And, yes, I have had personal bad experience with "Lord" Bhagavan, but I felt his letters were very refreshing and Krishna Conscious. He was offering that everyone come and meet together and discuss and reach some cooperative agreement, but Harikesh seemed to oppose this open mood to cooperate. He seemed to have been determined to strip Prabhupada naked in an open court, and have a karmi court settle the matter before he would dare stoop to cooperating with these devotees. I feel his current mental collapse and nervous breakdown is directly the result of these offenses.

Nalini has asked that we, Prabhupada disciples, vote out the entire existing GBC and vote in all new members. But, who? Who is there who is any more qualified than the last batch? I feel that as soon as we elect a new batch, they too will succumb to such nonsense activities because they too will not be any more pure. Then what is the solution? I don't know. I am not writing with some lofty idea and saying that I have all the answers, but, I don't see anyone who does either.

One thing that's for sure, it is time to openly welcome back all of Prabhupada's disciples who were pushed out due to the Ritvik issue. I, personally, do not agree with the Final Order book, but I sure in hell do not agree with the previous or current system either. I don't agree with the Final Order conclusion, but I see it as being more palatable than the previous or existing systems. And I totally disdain the GBC's feverish attitude to go after, and run out anyone who does not accept their position on this matter. It has splintered Prabhupada's movement and it has chased out most of his direct disciples. You judge by the result, and I have no doubt that Srila Prabhupada would not be pleased with a management team that has wreaked such havoc. Would Srila Prabhupada be pleased with the fact that most of his own direct disciples are no longer able to live nicely in his temple/communities? No longer welcome in his temples? They were run out, or made to feel unwelcome not because they no longer respect their guru, but because they want everyone to respect him even more.

I always have too much to say about many things, so I should end this now. Hari Bol.

ys
Ameyatma das adhikari

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In Bhagavad Gita Sri Krishna says: "The thoughts of my pure devotees dwell in Me, their minds are surrendered to Me, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss enlightening one another and conversing about Me." (BG 10.9)