VNN Editorial - Tip A Charu & Tamal Too

EDITORIAL

December 6, 1999 VNN5031 Related VNN StoriesComment on this story

Tip A Charu & Tamal Too

BY TARUN KRSNADAS

EDITORIAL, Dec 6 (VNN) — Sri Sri Guru Gaurangau Jayatah

Dear sannyasis, prabhus, matajis and didis,

Please accept my humble dandavat pranams in remembrance of our divine masters.

In 1840, the Whig candidate, General William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) defeated the Democrat candidate, 8th President Martin Van Buren (1782-1862) to become the 9th U.S. President. His vice-president and running mate was John Tyler (1790-1862). The popular vote was close, 1,275K to 1,128K, but the electoral college vote was a landslide, 234 to 60. The catchy winning Whig slogan was 'Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.'

Today, 160 years later, we face a similar sounding struggle, "Tip a Charu and Tamal Too". An election and trial of another sort. Did they or didn't they? Were they engaged in intense guru-seva? Or was it ill-motivated resulting in possible foul play?

The stakes run deep. So many feelings are there, they must be, for we know these 2 sannyasi godbrothers and others possibly implicated for such a long time.

Indeed, a full 22 years have passed since we've seen the lotus feet, lotus face and lotus hands of our beloved gurudev. What should we think? How can we begin to know the truth of what really happened in Ramanreti, Vrajadham so long ago?

When we first heard the 'poison tape' or even the idea that Prabhupad could have been poisoned we thought, "How is it possible?" Only someone who had much to gain and no understanding whatsoever of the laws of karma-phalam, action-reaction could even begin to conceive of attempting such a heinous act. Certainly not initiated disciples. Never. At first glance, at second glance, our total denial continued. But as we began to consider Prabhupad's own words, some doubts arose.

On the one hand Prabhupad said, "Impossible is a word to be found in a Fool's Dictionary." On the other hand Prabhupad constantly encouraged us to advance saying, "Krsna always protects his devotee, especially His suddha-bhakta, pure devotee." Yet he also said "As they tried to kill Jesus Christ, they will try to kill me."

How to balance all these statements? In addition, our homeopathy expert in Sydney, Vaikunthanath das Kaviraj as well as several medical doctors claim that while Prabhupad may very well have been poisoned, his bodily symptoms do not match those usually found in recorded cases of arsenic ingestion. Confusing? Any light at the end of this tunnel? Any reference in sastra to clear up all this ambiguity once and for all?

eka dina matara pade kariya pranama
prabhu kahe - mata, more deha eka dana
mata bale, - tai diba ya tumi magibe
prabhu kahe ekadasite anna na khaibe
saci kahe - na khaiba bhala-i kahila
sei haite ekadasi karibe lagila

One day Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu fell down at His mother's feet and requested her to give Him one thing in charity.

His mother replied, "My dear Son, I will give You whatever You want." The Lord said, "My dear mother, please do not eat grains on Ekadasi." Mother Sachi said, "You have spoken very nicely. From this day forward I shall not eat grains on Ekadasi."

Very sweet. 3 simple inocuous verses from Adi-lila (15.8-10). Right?? WRONG!! Read Prabhupad's purport to verse 9 aloud. "In Bhakti-sandarbha by Srila Jiva Gosvami there is a quote from the Skanda Purana admonishing that a person who eats grains on Ekadasi becomes a murderer of his mother, father, brother and spiritual master, and even if he is elevated to a Vaikuntha planet, he falls down."

Many of us have mistakenly eaten grains on Ekadasi. We all should be more careful about this, informing others also.

This particular citing from Skanda Purana makes 5 extreme claims that would be difficult to prove in a mundane court of law. Generally only hard physical evidence is admissable. Nowadays DNA samples are admissible, yet genes are still quite gross when compared to sabda-pramana. Devotees having implicit faith in sastra find it is easy to comprehend that the invisible is far greater in stature and influence than the visible. The grosser extends from the subtler, yet cannot exhaust it.

The Skanda Purana was written 5000 years ago for people in this Kaliyuga to read and learn from, knowing well what degradation lie ahead. Concording, everyday we are bombarded with examples of matricide, patricide and fratricide by the media occuring both inside and outside religious groups. Easy to see these 3.

In 1995, the GBC officially decided that the jivatma falls from Vaikuntha and even Goloka Vrndavan! Now HERE is their very best sastric reference point. All those patitavadis that believe this (not I) knowingly or unknowingly must've eaten grains on Ekadasi. That covers the 5th claim. 4 out of 5.

But what about gurucide? Out of 5 Skanda Purana claims, why do we hesitate to believe this 4th one? What would it take to tip our suksma scales to rise from 80% partial faith to 100% full faith in sastra?

'Guru sastra sadhu vakya cittete kariya aikya'

The truth shall reach us in a variety of ways: sometimes through sastra, sometimes through sadhu, sometimes through guru. Other ways also. In this case it is quite simple. We have the victims' voice on tape declaring that he himself is being murdered. He gives examples: Maricha, Rama, Ravana, etc. In addition, we have the voices of the accused talking with the victim about his being murdered. Bhavananda mentions "our lawyer in Calcutta also poisoned his wife." What could be more obvious than this?

After the victim, SP states he's being poisoned, one such accused asks, "Prabhupad, who told you you're being poisoned?" Think about this question for a minute. In fact, don't just think about, get a copy of the tape and listen to it yourself so you can hear the TONE and INFLECTION of voice being used by this disciple questioning his guru! The victim (SP) replies, "Someone. A friend has told me."

It's difficult to know for sure what someone else is thinking. On one of TKG's first preaching video tapes going back 20 years, perhaps in Fiji, he's confronted by a Sai Baba advocate from the auditorium audience.

The advocate claims that Sai Baba can read minds. TKG replies, "I bet he can't read my mind."

In English the word 'tip' has many meanings. Herein we use tip to mean 'inform.' Everyone should be informed or tipped off that so far, the most reliable proof of gurucide remains Prabhupad's own books and Prabhupad's own voice. Guru and sastra. And if we include Srila Jiva Gosvami and whomever is speaking this sloka in Skanda-purana, then we can round out our sources of evidence, checks and balances as being the eternally traditional Vedic 3: guru, sastra and sadhu.

These 3 answer the following essential inquiries: Who could develop such a gurucide mentality, who could actually murder his guru and that he himself, Prabhupad himself is saying "I'm being murdered."

One alleged perpetrator's feelings contra Prabhupad may have began as early as Gaur-purnima 1976, 10 months before Charu even joined the mission. I myself was witness to this. In Gita, Krsna warns Arjun, "For one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death." Similarly, the accused had always been honored as one of the topmost ISKCON leaders and managers, but after hearing complaints against him from other seniors and also juniors, Prabhupad decided to dethrone or dismiss said accused directing him away from the bulk of his disciples by ordering him, "You go to China."

The news of SP's simple solution to this disciple's lording over the rest of us spread quickly. The apparent humiliation was a bitter pill, too bitter for him to swallow, at least not all at once.

However, considering that China then as now had about one-fifth the world's population, not a bad deal. Not a bad deal at all! Just imagine you and your multi-level traveling party stopped in every North Amerikan temple for the past 2 years (1974-6) preaching: "You are brahmacari. The president is grhastha. We are sannyasis. What can you learn from a grhastha? This temple is maya. Better to leave this temple and join our bus program." In this way devotees, id est, cooks, pujaris who were here in the morning were gone by nightfall. Mysterious disappearances. It got so bad that the temple presidents had to call several meetings and finally inform Prabhupad himself of this ongoing dilemma.

Prabhupad's solution was fair to everyone: "You go to China." If we consider that 5 years later this same accused along with other GBCs members offered a significantly inferior deal to any Prabhupad sisya who accepted diksa or sannyas from Srila Sridhardev, the accused had no substantial reason to be sore.

By 1981, many ISKCON devotees had lost faith in the original 11. Some instead went to Srila Sridhardev for further guidance and initiation. Srila Sridhardev sent every ISKCON devotee he initiated back to ISKCON. BCS, Bhakticaru Svami was eyewitness to this. But upon returning to ISKCON, they were neither congratulated nor greeted with open arms. Instead they were told, "Oh! So now you're initiated by Sridhar Mhrj! Hmm! Okay! Here's your status. You can't give class, you can't lead kirtan, you can't hold any position in any ISKCON temple or committee. What you CAN do is open up a new center in a new area in the name of ISKCON." Disconnection yet some possible slight connection.

In comparison, Prabhupad's order to Tamal was heavenly! Tamal could still travel, lead kirtan and give class. He just couldn't lord it over anyone anymore anywhere except China. In this way Prabhupad was protecting us from him and him from himself.

Wholistically strategic.

In 1977, BCS aka Charu was too neophyte a devotee to be able to manipulate anyone else. But he was a prime target for being manipulated himself. On the 'poison tape' it sounds like he may not have actually known what was in the medicine and food he was feeding Prabhupad. He may not have known. Charu vetti na vetti va. Maybe he knew. Maybe he didn't.

In Let The Truth Prevail, Bhakti Charu Svami states: "From Srila Prabhupad we learned that a vaisnav does not defend himself." When and where did Prabhupad say this? Is this an absolute or relative statement? What about Arjun, Bhima, Bhisma, Madhvacharya?

Whispers. Why Nityananda or anyone else should NOT be concerned over whispers recorded by a machine placed just beside Sri Gurudev just days before his demise? Any sisya who's NOT concerned is less than callous; he's dead to the world, though breathing.

Mosquito. Anyone who has lived in any holy dham for at least a few months knows the unwritten ahimsa code: no living being is to be intentionally killed within the holyland bounderies. Even the bangies, street cleaners follow this rule. They'll tie up a hog, put him on a flatbed truck and drive off, but they won't slaughter him till they're out of Vraj.

Tamal is careful not to say much in his "Statement by TKG." I don't blame him. In his case, the less said the better. Notwithstanding his short 8 paragraph plea, he does manage to contradict himself, fall over his own feet, so to speak. TKG writes that SP said, "Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupad passed away dissatisfied" but that Bhaktivedanta Prabhupad was completely satisfied. Next, 2 inches down the same page TKG writes, "It was not easy to see his body wither, his resolve to continue on, wane. If my resolve to continue on wanes, does that indicate complete satisfaction?

On 8Nov77 Prabhupad said, "Get me out of this room." When Tamal told Prabhupad that leaving this room would be suicide, Prabhupad responded, "Staying here in this room is also suicide." Then Prabhupad gave his most intense instruction of all time, BAR NONE. "If I stay here, I'll be killed by Ravan, if I go out I'll be killed by Ram. Better to be killed by Ram."

Completely satisfied? Resolve to continue on waning? Neither of the 2. Not even close. Prabhupad wanted to get OUT that room and Tamal's resolve was to keep Prabhupad IN that room. If Gurukrpa would have known that... This should be Charu's focal point.

Tip a Charu and Tamal Too. After you tip off Charu, someone Please Tip Tamal off TOO, before its TOO late.

Before he gives himself away altogether.

Whether BCS was knowingly involved, he was probably not the mastermind. The mastermind may have also been mostly working alone. One vedic aphorism states: "Too much Bhakti means Thief!" Then can too, too, too much Bhakti mean Murderer?

Tip a Charu and Tamal Too. The popular vote amongst the less-informed may be close, but the electoral college vote amongst those more informed is becoming a landslide, as was the case 160 years ago. That is my own understanding so far.

Dandavat pranams to you all. Good health and Full KC.
Your godbrother, servant and friend, Tarun Krsnadas