10/31/1998 - 2440 (See Related VNN Stories)

Bhaktitirtha Swami's Comments

USA (VNN) - By Kesava dasi

Dear Assembled Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories toHis Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, our dear most loving savior.

I am writing in response to Umapati Swami's recent article on Chakrawherein he gives what is supposedly some kind of a transcript of theclass thatBhaktitirtha Swami gave in Alachua during the Sunday Feast on October4th, 1998. Please see my previous VNN story.

I am in utter disbelief after reading Umapati's response. He hasactually changed the words of Bhaktitirtha Swami. I cannot believe howhe is adjusting the actual facts in order to protect Bhaktitirtha Swami from his ownwords. I am in the process of acquiring a transcript of that class.Hopefully devotees will come forward who taped the class separately fromthe temple, just in case it was re-recorded. This is fraud and I willnot sit and watch this happen without speaking up.

I remember very distinctly that when I asked Bhaktitirtha Swami why thenewmembers were being forced to accept conditioned souls as gurus, hisresponse was exactly this:

"Srila Prabhupada said he was a conditioned soul." I shouted back, "But we know he is liberated!" He then retorted, "But how do you know?" And Ireplied, "We know in our hearts!"

This was the exchange. He never responded as Umapati claims, and itamounts to fraudulent insertion of text in order to save face forBhaktitirtha Swami. If one looks at my statement, they will see that it would not havemade any sense for me to say "But we know he is liberated" after whatUmapati Swami claims Bhaktitirtha Swami said. Even more surprising isthat Umapati Swami took my comments of finding the quote of SrilaPrabhupada regarding the "I am a conditioned soul" statement and used itto say that is what Bhaktitirtha said! He wasn't even creative and hadto take the statement in my story and turn it around that BhaktitirthaSwami said it!

The section Umapati Swami printed about the disembodied beings doesn'tsound like anything I heard in that class. I think it is a fabricationas well. AndRasatala Prabhu's question about what Bhaktitirtha Swami meant by disembodied beings isavoided altogether.

In regard to the credibility of his "witness" Sudharma dasi, she has asalaried position in ISKCON, a status that in my experience almostguarantees obedience to the company line. I say this as an honestobservation, no more, no less. I am at a loss for what she means by thestatement that Bhaktitirtha Swami had a good rapport going with theclass. That is just one opinion. I have heard others say that his classwas very confusing and didn't seem to make sense much of the time. Someused the word "gibberish."

Bhaktitirtha Swami's words were so inappropriate (a desperate attempt to justify hiscurrent role-playing?) that numerous devotees were shocked, even to thepoint that many thought he had said Srila Prabhupada was a conditionedsoul! This result alone clearly indicates the thin ice he was treadingupon and the tone of his remarks. Worth mentioning is the fact that anice woman devotee came up to me after the class and told me not to feelbad as she had been initiated four times. The poor thing!

I have a few questions for Umapati Swami:

How can you think you will get away with this behavior? Do you not knowthat Srila Prabhupada and Sri Krishna can see our every move and theyknow what is in our hearts?

Can you see the rapid changes that are happening all around you inISKCON and not realize that Srila Prabhupada is taking care ofeverything? Cheaters will not go unnoticed. It may seem like many havegotten away with murder for the last twenty-one years, but all of thatis now being exposed at a phenomenal rate. Many devotees have kept quietabout what they have witnessed, but are now coming out in full force toclean up the movement.

Is it so important to all of those who are enjoying Srila Prabhupada'sassets and buildings that they will perpetrate fraud after fraud againstthe body of devotees at the cost of the karma they will suffer very soonor may be suffering already? It makes me wonder if the cheaters evenbelieve in Krishna and this wonderful Vaishnava philosophy.

How responsible are you for what this movement has come to? It iswell-known that you were promoting Kirtanananda throughout his heinoustransgressions, up to and including the murder of Sulocana, who wastrying to expose the deviations. How is it that someone like you is nowa "leader" of ISKCON? I just don't get it.

I have recently been told that you put down Srila Yudhisthira Maharaj on the Prabhupada disciples conference, saying he was lusty and greedy inthegambling match against the Kurus and that is why Draupadi was disrobed,and that this is proof that pure Vaishnavas fall down. I will post acopy of this in the near future. How far will you go to defend thecurrent statusquo? The devotee that reported this to me said he has left COM justbecause ofsuch things you were saying. Can you please explain your behavior tome?

If you can so easily change a transcript of a public class, what is tokeep us from thinking that you and others have changed so manytranscripts of Srila Prabhupada's conversations, including the May 28,1977 tape? It seems many of you will do anything to stay in power.Even the possibility of some of you poisoning Srila Prabhupada comesback to my mind after seeing your fraud, even though I had doubtsbefore. Now I am starting to wonder again.

There are several of us on a mission to expose all of the corruption inISKCON and it will be very difficult for the deviants to continue likethis for much longer. Instead of all this nonsense deceit and spincontrol why don't you give up your false charade and put SrilaPrabhupada back in the center of ISKCON where he rightfully belongs? Doyou really all think you can usurp your spiritual master's mission andexalted post without qualification? Believe me when I say you aredigging a very deep and lonely hole for yourself.

Aspiring servant of the sincere followers of Srila Prabhupada,

Kesava dasi

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