CHAPTER 8:
MORE AUDIO FORENSICS
In January 1998, Mahabuddhi decided to divest himself of the responsibility for the CAE forensic report, and step into the background. He encouraged this reporter, who had funded the entire $15,000 cost, to decide what to do with it. Mahabuddhi wanted the report made public at some point, but his work and family responsibilities were wearing him down. He was getting dozens of calls at all hours about the forensic work; some were intimidating, some threatening, some boring, all of them time consuming. Thus this reporter was now solely responsible for the CAE forensic analysis already done, and for whatever other forensics might be done in the future.
Early on, Mahabuddhi repeatedly mentioned his suspicion that the poison tape was edited and that the sections recorded seemed to him to have been rearranged out of chronological order. Specifically, he thought that the "Get ready to go" episode was actually the last recording made, but moved ahead of previous days' room conversations. He also speculated that there was "poisoning for a long time," and that Srila Prabhupada was given a final lethal dose of poison when told "Get ready to go." He thought the poisoners were worried Srila Prabhupada going to expose them and thus they needed to quickly finish their nefarious work. Or, the poisoners were concerned that the last kaviraja would restore Srila Prabhupada's health in spite of "poisoning for a long time," something the kaviraja emphatically declared his medicines were capable of doing. Note that these were merely suppositions.
For many years there has been a samilar suspicion of tape editing on the so-called "appointment tape" of May 28, 1977. As editor of Vedic Village Review in Mississippi about ten years ago, this reporter had almost had the appointment tape analyzed for editing. Many devotees wondered if the appointment tape had been spliced, if words had been rearranged, or if words had been deleted to change the import of Srila Prabhupada's words.
This reporter then learned that Mrigendra, by GBC request, had the appointment tape analyzed, and it was a reminder of issues set aside years ago due to life's turmoil. Mrigendra, a devotee attorney (Harvey Mechanic), arranged for a copy of the appointment tape to be sent from the Bhaktivedanta Archives to Norman Perle's lab. He asked that there be a determination as to whether or not the tape had been edited.
In September 1997, Perle's report was released to the devotee world and immediately caused great confusion. Learning of the report two months later, this reporter was told that the appointment tape had been edited and tampered with, which is probably the general understanding of most devotees outside of the ISKCON temples. Upon discussing the matter with Bir Krishna Maharaj, former GBC chairman, he explained that Perle was simply identifying the points where the tape recorder had been turned off and then on again. This was the method in which room conversations with Srila Prabhupada were taped; the tape recorder would be then turned on whenever there was discussion, visitors or darshan, and then turned off again. A tape was filled over a day or more, with many sections separated by "breaks." When a tape was full, another cassette was popped into the recorder.
Part of the summary from Perle's report states:
"In conclusion, this recording exhibits strong signs suggestive of falsification. I do not believe that these deficiencies might possibly be the product of some mechanical process or problem within the recording or duplication process and I believe that they exist at what is considered to be a higher degree than that of a coincidence."(complete report in Appendix 1)
Perle identified six points on side A of the tape, each documented with a waveform and spectrograph analysis, plus a commentary, typically "…consistent with a recording made from an edited Master recording."
Interviewed, Mrigendra explained that no instructions were supplied to Perle as to the manner in which recordings of Srila Prabhupada were typically made. Perle was not apprised as to the start-stop routine and the resultant "breaks." Perle did not call back to ask any questions as to the circumstances or details of the tape. Perle was put on an extremely minimal budget, completely inadequate for actually doing any comprehensive and thorough analysis. Genuine quality work, as I found out with CAE, costs many thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, Mrigendra was simply not aware of how important this information would have been to Perle, nor was he even aware of it himself. As a result, Perle's appointment tape analysis is misleading, which is typical GBC mismanagement, and should have been remedied by further funding to complete the analysis properly.
This reporter felt a responsibility to clear up the confusion and decided, at great expense, to finish the GBC project of analyzing the "appointment tape," and to do it expertly and conclusively. (see Chapter 11 & Appendix 3) Then it dawned on this author that the next logical step in the poison investigation would be to see if the poison tape had been edited, as was going to be tested for on the appointment tape. It would be invaluable to complete and review Perle's analysis on the appointment tape. There was suspicion of editing on both tapes, May28, the other November 11, 1977, six months apart, and that needed to be checked out.
After several lengthy conferences with Jack Mitchell at CAE and strategizing on how to go about this next stage of forensic analysis, looking for possible edits, copies of the appointment tape from the BBT Archives and Perle's appointment tape report were sent to CAE. We discussed the technical differences in spectrographic signatures of a start-stop compared to various types of edits. Edits can be accomplished by copying over, "punching in" electronically, or the simple and old-school razor blade butt-splice. CAE explained about differing "ramp times" created by start-stops on different recording machines. Thus, as we shall see, CAE was able to confirm and identify many stop-start points on both the poison and appointment tapes. Most of Perle's six points on the appointment tape that he characterized as consistent with edits were, sure enough, as we shall see, nothing but typical stop-starts.
CHAPTER 9:
OBTAINING THE UHER
However, there were other unusual anomalies on both tapes that could not be explained away so easily. Jack had made note of them when he had done the poison whisper analyses. Jack emphasized the need to know exactly what tape recorder had made these two tapes, as each recorder makes its own specific electronic "signatures" on the magnetic tape, with its different functions of pause, auto reverse, limiters, internal vs. external microphone, fast forward, etc. It was crucial, if CAE were to be able to make a truly definitive analysis, that we obtain the actual tape recorder used to record the tapes. And so began the search for information about the current location of the tape recorder last used over twenty years ago.
After two weeks of phone and internet searching, the picture became clearer. There was a UHER reel to reel recorder used to record Srila Prabhupada up till about early 1976. Hari Sauri Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada's servant, arranged to have a new UHER cassette recorder obtained, as cassettes were so much easier to handle and he hoped that thus more of Srila Prabhupada's words would be captured on tape. He was right; the amount of recordings increased dramatically in 1976 over previous years. A second, identical UHER cassette recorder was obtained in Los Angeles for use when Srila Prabhupada was there (which was often) and also as a back-up in case the first recorder broke. Paramrupa Prabhu, founder of the BBT Archives, told this reporter that he used the second UHER in LA in February of 1978, after which it was sent to India. Its location today is unknown.
So where was the first UHER cassette recorder that recorded the two tapes we were analyzing? Mahabuddhi suggested that I call Puru Prabhu, who had the extensive Bhaktivedanta Memorial Museum in the Brooklyn temple for many years. Suddenly, this reporter remembered touring his exhibits in 1989, and how Puru had proudly pointed out Srila Prabhupada's tape recorder in a showcase. Upon contacting Puru, it was clear that he was anxious to help disprove that the appointment tape had been edited. Puru was assured that CAE needed his UHER recorder to definitively ascertain the truth about the appointment tape, which was this reporter's only motive. Puru sent the UHER by Fedex to CAE to assist with the analysis work.
Upon receiving the UHER, Jack found that there was an electrical short somewhere in the machine. It did not work, and would need to be repaired before tests could proceed. The former USA distributor for UHER tape recorders was of no help, and UHER in Germany did not reply Jack's e-mails. Jack got on the web and put out the alert for a schematic, hoping some electronic packrat had one from the seventies. Sure enough, within days, there was confirmation from New Zealand and a schematic was sent over to New Mexico. Without the schematic, it might have taken a small fortune to find the electrical short. Jack's repairman got to work and the short was isolated in the roller mechanism area, and the machine was taken to another shop that had better diagnostic equipment.
Three weeks later, repaired, the UHER was operational and was returned to Jack Mitchell for the final and critical tests. Could the UHER make the unusual-looking anomalies found on both the poison and appointment tapes? Or were these anomalies due to edits and tampering?
There was also a small silver SONY cassette recorder used as a backup in India when the UHER was unavailable or not working. It is on display in Srila Prabhupada's quarters in Vrindaban. However, due to the similar patterns found on both the poison and appointment tapes, we initially thought that there was very little chance that either tape was made on the SONY. After the testing was completed, it was ascertained otherwise, as explained in the next chapter.
Puru received his UHER recorder from Tamal Krishna Goswami shortly after Srila Prabhupada's departure. Tamal distributed much Srila Prabhupada memorabilia at that time. There is next to no doubt that this UHER is the one used to record Srila Prabhupada in India in 1977. Puru asked Tamal to document in writing the history of his UHER and the SONY for the Bhaktivedanta Memorial Museum, but Tamal politely declined.
CHAPTER 10:
VIRTUAL ORIGINALS FROM ARCHIVES
Discussing with Jack Mitchell his challenges in being able to cover all bases and to research all possible explanations (other than an anomaly being an edit), we decided on direct consultations and cooperation with the Bhaktivedanta Archives in Sandy Ridge, North Carolina. We wanted to make sure that when Jack identified a point on either tape as an EDIT, that it was for sure an edit and nothing else. Subsequently, Jack Mitchell had several technical consultations with Paramrupa at the Archives, and these two techies figured that any possible anomalies on Archives-produced copies that might be created by the dubbing machine could be eliminated if direct-wired DAT copies were made. Original tapes could not be sent to New Mexico because by Archives policy, tapes "do not leave the Archives without one of the Archives directors watching every second it is out of the vault."
A recording procedure for these copies was agreed upon by Paramrupa Prabhu and Jack Mitchell. Jack said, "It should also be noted that these recordings, for the purpose of enhancement and speech decoding are most likely as good as having the original. The clarity on these digital copies exceeds the previously provided analog copies by magnitudes." This special DAT copy, almost as good in quality as the original tape itself, was sent to CAE in early March, 1998. Finally Jack Mitchell thought he had all the ingredients he needed to do a thorough, complete and definitive analysis to identify and verify points of tampering by editing.
CAE also consulted with Norman Perle on his appointment tape analysis, arranged through the cooperation of Mrigendra. CAE interviewed Mrigendra and Puru at length. This was truly a cooperative and comprehensive endeavor. The forensic study involved many participants. No one thought the GBC and Tamal Krishna Goswami would cooperate, so they weren't asked. Given the anti-"poison issue" rhetoric being posted at the time on the CHAKRA website, this reporter hoped that perhaps the publication of all evidence accumulated to date would spur them into cooperative action. Then again, perhaps that hope is ill-conceived and naive.
To claim Srila Prabhupada's sacred words on tape to have been edited or tampered with would not be an insignificant thing. Witness the brouhaha regarding the editing and changing of Srila Prabhupada's books. If His Divine Grace's sacred words on tape also could not be trusted, then what is left as sacred anywhere? It would be like the Bible, with its purity and origins unknown and unverified. Meanwhile, pressure was building for this reporter to release the results of CAE's analysis of the whispers, but this reporter decided to wait until the package was complete. After all, providing tantalizing tidbits for the gossip circuit was someone else's agenda. We wanted the whole truth and it was worth waiting a little longer for. Hopefully, this explained Balavanta's delay in the release of his results as well.
CHAPTER 11:
MORE WHISPERS, NO EDITING
On March 26, 1998, an addendum report was received from CAE. CAE had not yet begun the final testing for possible edits and tampering, but, with the new digital copy of the "poison tape", there were more whispers discovered, analyzed and noted. After "Poisoning for a long time", there was more discussion in whispers which has already been added into the earlier report of the whisper analysis in Chapter 7. But furthermore, on side A of the "poison tape", November 11, 1977, was found the following whispers:
WHISPER: 00:57.692…"GOING DOWN."
WHISPER: 03:25.485…"DID IT HURT?"
WHISPER: 21:40…"HE'S GONNA DIE"
WHISPER: 21:58.641…"LISTEN, HE'S SAYING…GOING TO DIE."
WHISPER: 46:51.445…"YES, A HEART ATTACK TIME."
ALSO, on side B of the same tape:
LOWER UNDER-TONE VOICE: (21:25.878)…"I TOLD YOU WHAT'S GOING ON. ORDERED TO (?). HE'S AS SLY (SLAY) AS THEY COME."
This is what CAE found on the new analog to digital transfer tapes received from the Archives. What to make of these new whispers? Again, we see the words "going down," probably referring again to poison. Thus two separate "going down" whispers confirm each other, being very near each other on the same tape. Heart attack time? Who's as sly as they come? These secretive whispers about Srila Prabhupada's death and slyness have raised great suspicions as to the whisperers' conspiracy to poison Srila Prabhupada.
Also, the whispers CAE had analyzed and reported on in January (Chapter 7) were reviewed on the new tapes and all previous findings were re-confirmed. With McCaffrey's confirmation, this makes triple verification of the forensic analysis of these whispers, what to speak of Balavanta's multiple confirmations of the same whispers.
In late April 1998 this reporter received Part Two of CAE's audio forensic analysis, which focused on the authenticity of the appointment and "poison" tapes, but also revealed again more additional background whispers.
These new whispers found on the poison tape show how audio forensics are able to hear what the human ear would miss or cannot understand, and are listed below to illustrate the point. Background whispering became common in Srila Prabhupada's room in those last days, perhaps because Srila Prabhupada's hearing had become so poor that the poisoners no longer worried about speaking incriminating whispers in the same room. But the tape recorder heard them.
When one takes ALL the incriminating whispers together from just one tape, any possible explanation to allay fears of the worst scenario, namely the poisoning of Srila Prabhupada, becomes a real stretch of the credible. Plainly put, these whispers clearly indicate a poisoning conspiracy.
The additional whispers are (entire report is found in Appendix 3):
SIDE A:
"IT LOOKS TO ME HE'S STUPID"
"LOOKS THAT WAY, YEAH."
"THAT'S FUNNY"
"LET'S GO OUT"
"ENERGIES CONSERVED AND BUILT UP, AND
MANAGED, AND…"
"LET'S REDEEM OURSELVES"
"DID YOU DRINK? HOW MANY?"
"GOD DAMNIT JAY'S …OH GOD"
"GOD DAMN…"
"FIFTY PERCENT'S YOUR CUT"
"WELL, NO GOOD REASON"
"YOU DOIN' ?"
SIDE B:
"DO IT AGAIN"
"STAY HERE"
"SOMEBODY COULD EXPECT TO…EXPERIENCE…"
"CHECK THESE THING AND …"
"COULD HAVE BEEN TEN PERCENT OF IT"
"CAN YOU BUCK THE…"
"Fifty percent's your cut" and "God damnit." What do we make of this? The most disturbing whisper comes last, where what sounds exactly like Jayapataka Maharaj's distinct nasal voice, speaking with Srila Prabhupada.
VOICE: "YOU'RE TAKING IT RIGHT NOW."
PRABHUPADA: "HOW'S THIS?"
VOICE: "LET IT GO."
Taking what? Poison? Medicine? Some of these phrases are very unusual and puzzling. Whatever is being referred to in these whispers, when held together with other evidence (especially Srila Prabhupada's own words), and knowing the last 22 years of ISKCON history, how could any sensible person not become highly suspicious? Many would become thoroughly convinced that Srila Prabhupada was indeed poisoned by his own leading disciples, the whisperers. This reporter is among the latter.
RESULTS OF TAPE ANALYSES FOR EDITS & TAMPERING:
CAE had obtained and repaired the original UHER cassette recorder upon which both tapes were thought to have been made. CAE experimented with all combinations of manual and electronic functions of the UHER and examined the results. The idea was to attempt to duplicate the dozen or so suspected "anomalies" identified on the two tapes, to determine as positively as possible if these were produced by tampering or editing, or through normal machine operations. However, most anomalies were fully reconciled as normal. NO EVIDENCE OF TAMPERING OR EDITING WAS FOUND ON BOTH THE APPOINTMENT TAPE OR POISON TAPE.
Two of the six "anomalies" identified by Perle on the appointment tape (Perle's exhibits 1 & 6) are simply lack of recognition of the tape "leader" at the start and the end of the tape. This could not have been ascertained by Perle unless he had the original tape, which he did not, but which Jack Mitchell confirmed with the BBT Archives, who examined their original tape. The other four anomalies appear to be stop-start points and nothing more. None of the suspected anomalies that both Perle and CAE analyzed were in or near the vicinity of the critical, brief "appointment "conversation on side A.
The poison tape's "anomalies," such as a 3 second blank spot, sudden amplitude changes, spiked "ramps" and so on were mostly reconciled. We now have renewed confidence in Srila Prabhupada's taped recordings, something we no longer have with His books due to BBT "editing." This should be some relief to the Bhaktivedanta Archives crew, now that extensive testing has found no tampering or editing to date on at least these two tapes.
However, there are some reservations about these conclusions. CAE found the May 28 tape was not recorded on Puru's UHER cassette recorder, whereas the November 11 "poison" tape was recorded on the UHER. But the May 28 tape was only found to have stop-start points and not the irregular types of apparent anomalies as did the poison tape. There are no suspicious areas on the appointment tape that could not be explained by CAE, and none were in the area of the critical "appointment" discussion. Therefore, even though the May tape was probably recorded on the Sony and not the UHER, still we can be fairly sure of no editing.
Jack Mitchell, in a later phone consultation, noted that the certainty of no editing or tampering on the two tapes was about 80 - 85 %. The limitations could be overcome if the original Archives tapes were tested by the "fluid magnetic development" process. Such a test does not negatively affect or damage the tape in any way. In this test, under 6X magnification, the magnetic signatures on the tape surface reveal "tank tracks" which would be broken by gaps every time the recorder was shut off for a "break." On a copy, however, the tank tracks are always continuous. The original tape would thus be required for testing to be 100% sure that there was no editing or tampering. An absence of gaps at stop-start points on the original tape would be proof that the original was really a copy, and if editing had taken place, it would become known from studying the "tank tracks'" features.
Perhaps in the future the funds and original tape will be available for this kind of test. In an expanded investigation conducted with the support of the ISKCON leadership (is there any left?), this should be on top of the list of things to do. That last 15 to 20 % possibility should be checked out. The summary of all this business about wondering if the tapes are edited is:
*The two tapes tested are not edited, with about 80% certainty.
*There is no technical or forensic indication that the tapes were edited.
* Perle's appointment tape analysis, stating "consistent with editing," is now debunked and refuted. Perle was not informed as to the nature of the recordings and he cursorily concluded the stop-start routine to be an irregularity and evidence of tampering. CAE clearly disproves this assumption in a thorough and first-class analysis, found in Appendix 3.
CHAPTER 12:
WITNESSES
NOTE: Gupta Prabhu, the California attorney who represented Hansadutta in the 1998 BBT copyright case, wanted that the names and locations be changed so that, in his opinion, a possible future criminal indictment would not be jeopardized by early disclosure of information. This reporter apologizes to Gupta Prabhu that his desire is not being accommodated herein. The rationale for this entire publication is to honestly and openly reveal whatever information is in hand because it is believed to be the best approach to instigating a resolution on all levels of this darkest of all secrets. May the truth set us free!
According to Paritrikananda Prabhu, rumors circulated in the Los Angeles devotee community in 1982 that Srila Prabhupada's poisoning had been witnessed by a young Vrindaban gurukula boy. His name was Bhakta Vatsala, he was Mexican and he was about 12 years old in 1977. Bhakta Vatsala had various duties in and around Srila Prabhupada's quarters and supposedly he overheard a group of senior disciples discussing the poisoning of Srila Prabhupada. When Bhakta Vatsala returned to Mexico in 1978, several devotees remember him talking openly about what he had overheard. One devotee who remembers this is Durlab Prabhu, now living in Mexico City and operating an incense business.
Durlab Prabhu was contacted in December 1997 by members of the investigative team, and he forthrightly verified how he and his brother, among others, had heard Bhakta Vatsala speaking repeatedly about overhearing a hushed discussion by eight senior devotees on the poisoning of Srila Prabhupada. The conversation took place in the Vrindaban temple near Srila Prabhupada's room as Bhakta Vatsala heard through the doorway. Durlab also remembered that two ISKCON gurus, namely Kirtanananda Swami and Bhagavan Prabhu, had come to Mexico around 1982 to 1984 looking for Bhakta Vatsala, who had by then left the movement with his family. Whether Bhakta Vatsala was found at thayt time or not is unknown. Durlab believed that Bhakta Vatsala had become unfriendly towards ISKCON and had become an airline pilot.
Various IVC members discussed how Bhakta Vatsala might be located and the story of a witness verified. Rochan called upon Mr. Powers in Seattle, who had long experience with a private investigator's office in Arizona, headed by "Benny". Benny was engaged by Mr. Powers to use his Mexican affiliates to search for Bhakta Vatsala. However, by late March, 1998, Benny reported that the leads provided were inadequate and provided no results. Bhakta Vatsala could not be located. The only lead was that he was employed at a leading hotel in the Mexico City vicinity, but this may have been Gupta's disinformation to this reporter. Gupta refused to share the information he had acquired with this reporter.
It is interesting to note that at the height of the poison controversy in December 1997, Tamal Krishna Goswami traveled to Mexico for about a week. Tamal went with Guruprasad Swami and attended a large festival in Guadalajara, then went alone for "rest and recuperation," as it was described by Bir Krishna Maharaj, to Acapulco on the Mexican Riviera. It was also reported that Tamal stayed with Hridayananda Swami in a four star Mexican hotel for a few days. Did this visit to Mexico have anything to do with Bhakta Vatsala?
In April 1998, Rochan, Paritrikananda, Gupta and this reporter were at a loss as to how to pursue the search for this possible witness to Srila Prabhupada's poisoning, now a grown man once called Bhakta Vatsala. Yasodanandan Prabhu, a former Vrindaban gurukula headmaster, remembers Bhakta Vatsala and has agreed to meet with him for interviewing if he can be located. Rupa Vilas Prabhu, now living in Florida, also remembers well his student Bhakta Vatsala in Vrindaban. The boy was not particularly inclined towards academics, but worked hard. He remained there in school for about five years until about age 14 or so, and then returned to Mexico. Both Rupa Vilas and Yasodanandana have no knowledge of Bhakta Vatsala's witnessing of any conversations as mentioned above.
In the health biography of Srila Prabhupada, November 6, 1977:
Srila Prabhupada: What is that sound?
Tamal: That's one of the brahmacharis shaking out the dust in the rugs. In my office we have some rugs, so he takes them outside and shakes them. He's a nice brahmachari, young boy from the Gurukula, from Mexico.
This boy is believed to be Bhakta Vatsala, who was engaged in menial cleaning tasks by Srila Prabhupada's servants and would have been well positioned to overhear discussions going in those otherwise restricted areas.
Through the years, there have been wispy rumors of other witnesses, two in particular (Yadudharma and Narayan), that saw or heard things in connection with Srila Prabhupada's poisoning This reporter and Balavanta have both noted these leads with no verification to date. It is hoped that this publication will stir the memories, conscience or guilt of persons who have knowledge of the possible poisoning of Srila Prabhupada, witnesses included.
One recent anonymous letter pulled from the internet website called VADA, Allegations of Poisoning, reads:
"I had a conversation with Prabhupada's sister Pishima, just after Prabhupada's passing, in which she mentioned that Prabhupada had called her to Mayapur to cook for him some time before because he was concerned that he was being given poison. Prabhupada wanted her personally to supervise all aspects of his food preparation including purchasing bhoga."
(To this letter's author: please help by contacting this author anonymously.)
The best witness is an accomplice who testifies against the others involved in the crime. Let this be notice to those who were involved in or who know about Srila Prabhupada's poisoning: your days are numbered, and soon the truth will catch up to you. Confess now and Yamaraj will give you some consideration of mercy, or be apprehended and punished anyway, with no consideration of mercy. You will be found and caught sooner or later.
CHAPTER 13:
ARE THERE MISSING TAPES?
It is often wondered if entire tape recordings of Srila Prabhupada's 1977 conversations, perhaps with crucial information or instructions, were destroyed or lost. Paritrikananda did a study on the subject of missing tapes, which is included in Appendix 10 . In the archival library of Srila Prabhupada's tape recordings, there are 75 out of 92 days between July and October for which there are no tapes, including 45 consecutive days from August 18 to October 1. Further, from March 1 to October 1, 1977, there are recordings for less than one of every three days.
That Srila Prabhupada would have spoken less during severe illness is understandable, but that He would have said nothing for such long periods is inconceivable. Were there recordings made during that time? The answer is yes, there was a standard procedure to record everything Srila Prabhupada said, with recorder and operator ready. Judging from the sequence and content of the available tapes, and observing the gaps, it appears very much that a tape here, a tape there, and then a string of tapes every so often were recorded but are missing. It is almost as though someone picked out the ones that should be lost and missing. How else do you manage such a pattern?
It does appear very curious that one of the possible suspects in a poisoning scenario would also be the one person responsible for recording, collecting, labeling and sending to the BBT all recordings of Srila Prabhupada after February of 1977. That person is Tamal Krishna Goswami, who did not attend the GBC meetings in Mayapur 1998 and 1999 and remains quite elusive. However, Tamal made a brief statement in May 1998.
Tamala Krishna Goswami Explains the Missing Tapes:
"We kept a small Sony tape recorder by Prabhupada's bedside and turned it on whenever possible to record whatever he said. Often two or three days or more would pass before an entire tape was filled. The tape would simply be given one of these dates, though in fact what was recorded often represented many days of conversation. This would explain why there appeared to be so many "missing" dates. Furthermore, on August 26, Srila Prabhupada left Vrindavana for London. While in London he underwent an operation due to a worsening condition and became almost entirely bedridden thereafter, seeing practically no one. Although his intention was to travel on to America, he instead returned to India, fearing the worst. Arriving in Bombay on September 14, he entered into a crisis situation. My diary entry for September 15 indicates the situation: "Throughout the day Srila Prabhupada has been lying in bed. He does not speak at all and hardly moves." When I asked Prabhupada how he was feeling, His Divine Grace simply said: "Crisis." On Oct. 1, Prabhupada left for Vrindavana. Obviously, this period represented days and even weeks when no recording was made.
Now, regarding how the recordings were transferred to Los Angeles. They would be sent conveniently with some responsible devotee returning to America. As an example, Isha dasa claims that one batch were brought back by HH Satsvarupa dasa Goswami who turned them over to Isha for sending to the archives. Hari Sauri Prabhu writes that his own experience is that sometimes the tapes were mislaid after reaching the archives. At least that was his experience with recordings he made in Hawaii in 1976; he states that Krishna Kanti, who was in charge of the archives at that time, must have mislaid them. If we look at the above dates, it seems most likely that I would have personally carried whatever tapes I had at the time in Vrindavana with us to London, with the idea of giving them to a responsible person to take to Los Angeles. Although I cannot recall the system of recording Prabhupada in London (I don't have the same type of remembrance of the Sony tape recorder by Prabhupada's side as I do in Vrindavana), I cannot imagine that we did not record him there at least some of the time. And yet you state that there are no available tapes at all within that period of his London visit. I find it hard to believe that there were no recordings because there were some very sweet meetings between Prabhupada and his disciples there.
The question, therefore, is what happened to these tapes. Again, I wish to emphasize that I am only surmising that there must have been some conversations recorded; I cannot state certainly, but it seems reasonable. In any case, if there were such tapes, there would be no point in me bringing them back to Vrindavana. Rather I would have sent them along with whatever I had brought with me from Vrindavana with a responsible person to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, I cannot recall who that person might be. Nor can we be certain what happened to the tapes, if there were any and if they arrived in Los Angeles, once they entered the hands of those in charge of the archives at the time. It is entirely possible that they may have suffered the same fate as those recorded by Hari Sauri Prabhu in Hawaii."
Basically Tamal said he doesn't know if tapes were recorded or lost. But, Tamal was responsible to get these tapes recorded and safely delivered to Los Angeles. Is it likely that the LA tape ministry/Archives would lose so many tapes, especially so many in a row, and then one here and there throughout the year? It is very suspicious. Considering Tamal's history (Appendix 15), how he changed his guru philosophy many times and invariably is at the forefront of ISKCON crises, one naturally suspects tapes were purposely lost to conceal their contents.
In preparing Srila Prabhupada's health biography for this book, this author extensively studied the Conversations Books containing Srila Prabhupada's taped conversations and also traveled to the Bhaktivedanta Archives in Sandy Ridge, NC, to physically examine the 1977 tapes, and hold discussions with Ekanath, Ranjit, and Paramrupa Prabhus. The following information relevant to the issue of missing tapes was found.
On April 18, 1977, Tamal wrote to Radhaballabha stating that he was personally taking responsibility for the tape recordings of Srila Prabhupada. (see Ch. 23, April 14) The tapes were dated with a felt tip pen in Tamal's handwriting. Tamal had an office for secretarial work and arranged for tape batches to be sent to the BBT. Tamal's job was to see that the tapes were properly recorded, labeled, and safely delivered to Radhavallabha's care. Any missing 1977 tapes are ultimately, if not directly, Tamal's fault. There are many 1977 tapes no longer available, either lost by accident or intention.
Some "missing" tapes are explained by tapes covering more than one day. This was confirmed by the content of the tape and comparison to Tamal's and Abhiram's diaries. Thus perhaps a fifth of the missing days in 1977 can be accounted for. However, for the large blocks of missing tapes covering many consecutive days, there is no other explanation than the tapes were lost or destroyed. Was some subject matter contained in those tapes, or instructions Srila Prabhupada gave therein, that someone did not want to be known to other devotees? Trust in Tamal has degenerated to such a point.
For example, on May 28, 1977, Tamal asks Srila Prabhupada, "Is that called rtvik acharya?" The previous conversation in which Srila Prabhupada introduced the concept of rtvik initiation is missing. Tamal wouldn't know to ask this question unless he had already discussed with Srila Prabhupada about rtviks BEFORE May 28. Just as there were rtvik conversations before May 28 that unavailable, there are very likely similar conversations AFTER May 28 which are unfortunately not available either. There are so many questions to ask Tamal; fortunately his recent surgery was successful so that he may perhaps agree or be compelled in the future to answer some of them.
In the foreword to TKG's Diary, Rabindra Swarup, obviously in cooperation with Tamal, makes this statement regarding missing tapes:
"...all the tapes from August 18 to October 3 are missing. TKG supervised the recording, and the tapes would pass out of his control when periodically he would entrust a batch to somebody or another to deliver to the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust in Los Angeles. I have heard devotees recall how the tapes thus sent sat without supervision in an open box, from which community residents felt free to borrow and return at will. We should accordingly be glad to have as many tapes as we do."
In response, one might wonder how TKG could remember or detail in his diary so many minute details of health, banking, and conversation month after month, but have absolutely no details to offer on:
1. who and when he gave "batches" of tapes to for taking to LA?
2. how often he sent tapes to LA, and how they were packaged?
3. what instructions he gave to the carrier; who was the final recipient?
4. why bother going to all the trouble to record Srila Prabhupada's words (lugging a recorder around, finding an operator, turning it on and off hundreds of times, labeling and switching tapes) if there was no method to preserve, protect and safely deliver the tapes to their final destination?
5. Why does Hari Sauri's record of delivering tapes to LA in 1976 not show three major gaping holes in time as Tamal's record shows in 1977? Those holes are 19 days in March, 14 days in June, 45 days in September and August, and 31 out of 44 days between July 4 and August 16?
In conclusion, Tamal's explanations just don't satisfy people. They leave much to be desired. His answers just don't cut it. It all looks too suspicious to think that it was anything but at least partially deliberate.
CHAPTER 14:
RESEARCHING THE TAPE LIBRARY
We must note that the present recorded evidence regarding Srila Prabhupada's poisoning comes just one tape that only a handful of devotees even knew existed prior to two years ago. The 20 tapes which Isha and Mahabuddhi listened to and upon which they discovered the poison whispers are among many scores of tapes that have not been studied except by a very few. These tapes are available from the BBT Archives by special order at $5 each. If any reader of this report would like to assist in this investigation, or if just to listen to new Srila Prabhupada conversations, any of these "unreleased" conversation tapes from March through November 1977 may be ordered from:
Bhaktivedanta Archives
PO Box 255, Sandy Ridge, NC 27046.
or call Ekanath there: 800 800 3284
or email at: archives@earthlink.net
By scouring through these tapes, perhaps specific information relevant to the ongoing poison investigation may be "discovered." Please consider participating in the poison investigation by obtaining and listening to these heretofore unknown tapes. Further, the Hindi and Bengali portions of the tapes need to be transcribed, particularly those of October and November 1977. Please help us find more information from these tapes.
CHAPTER 15:
CHANDRA SWAMI CONNECTION
In India today, and even more so twenty years ago, one can find Ayurvedic physicians, herbal medicines and various drugs or poisons just about anywhere. It is part of the Hindu/Indian culture and an area very loosely regulated by the authorities. Thus, to obtain any of a number of poisons would not be very difficult. On the other hand, it is difficult to obtain high quality and pure medicines.
On October 20, 1977 Srila Prabhupada had a dream wherein he saw a Ramanuja-vaidya preparing makharadhvaja medicine, and he interpreted that Krishna had given some idea of how to be treated. The devotees had already obtained what was supposed to be makharadhvaja from Bonamali in Vrindaban, but he was not a Ramanuja kaviraja. Bonamali gave instructions that its administration be only after the weather had cooled down.
But Srila Prabhupada wanted the makharadhvaja prepared only by the Ramanuja-kaviraja, as He had seen in His dream. On the 24th of October, Smara-hari was going to South India to see the chief priest in Sri Rangam temple. He was going to purchase the medicine's ingredients himself, and then have the Ramanuja kaviraja make it while he watched. He hoped to be back to with Srila Prabhupada's medicine in one to two weeks.
There are three accounts thus far as to how the makharadhvaja was obtained from Chandra Swami: Tamal's, Adi Keshava's, and that of the Conversations Books. First, we quote from TKG's Diary:
October 23: "Gopal Krishna and Adi Keshava went to Delhi for phoning. October 24: "We received a phone call from Delhi, however. Adi Keshava Maharaj had a very prominent sadhu friend from New York who happened to be in Delhi. He had called his friend, Candidas, who knew the best kaviraja available, one of the Ramanuja sampradaya. Candidas phoned the kaviraja, who amazingly had just completed a ten-day preparation of makharadhvaja. Candidas had saved seven tolas and was going to donate them to Srila Prabhupada." October 25: "In the early evening Satadhanya Maharaj arrived with the makharadhvaja. The kaviraja had also treated Morarji Desai, and his office was filled with members of Parliament, etc. There are six kinds of makharadhvaja medicine. He had prepared siddha makharadhvaja. Seven tolas were not required. As it was being made for another, when the kaviraja heard it was needed by Srila Prabhupada, he donated it. It was made from gold, pearls, musk, mica, and other ingredients, and could be taken with milk or honey. The kaviraja had given twelve grams, enough for 24 days at two doses a day, each weighing two ratis. Both Satadhanya and Adi Keshava were very impressed, though the kaviraja was not a Ramanuji but a sakta wearing Siva tilak. Prabhupada heard all this from Satadhanya Maharaj, then said that Bhakticharu Maharaj and I would take charge of the medicine..." (TkgD.293-9)
In March 1999 this author interviewed Adi Keshava Prabhu, who was very forthcoming and informative. Oddly, he now has a PhD in Biochemistry and works in plant pathology research, being very familiar with arsenic toxicity and various testing methods. At the mention of Chandra Swami, Adi Keshava immediately muttered, "Oh, that old rat!" and variously described the "sadhu" as a wheeler dealer, a Punjabi truck driver, a slimey character, etc. Chandra Swami was a fortune teller and his offers of help to people were always very self-motivated. In November 1976 Chandra Swami had come to Adi Keshava in New York to offer help with his court case. Chandra Swami referred Adi Keshava to certain contacts and individuals who actually were of great assistance. Chandra Swami invited Adi Keshava to join him in a meeting with President-elect Jimmy Carter in January 1977, and Adi Keshava provided an oil painting of Krishna as a gift for the occasion. The meeting never occurred but Carter did receive the painting.
Chandra Swami came and went from New York, and Adi Keshava would sometimes visit him at an upper Manhattan deluxe apartment. After winning the court case in March 1977, Adi Keshava went to see Chandra Swami at a house in Delhi, and thanked him for his help. After Indira Gandhi's fall from power, a man came to the Vrindaban temple gate for Adi Keshava with a message from Gandhi's appointment secretary. Chandra Swami was somehow involved with Indira Gandhi's wanting to meet with Srila Prabhupada in Vrindaban, but Srila Prabhupada did not want to meet her. Adi Keshava went to Delhi to decline the offer, and met Chandra Swami at Gandi's secretary's office. Chandra Swami was informed of Srila Prabhupada's ill health, and Adi Keshava never saw him again.
On October 23 Adi Keshava went to Delhi to try to extend his plane ticket, but he could not and would have to fly back to New York within days. Satadhanya accompanied him to Delhi on business of his own. Adi Keshava phoned Chandra Swami's office and a "minion-psycophant" was asked for suggestions on where to find a qualified Ramanuja kaviraja who might have or could make makharadhvaja. The minion called back after apparently contacting Chandra Swami and referred Adi Keshava to a very prominent kaviraja in Delhi who was treating Morarji Desai.
Satadhanya and Adi Keshava went to the Delhi kaviraja's large clinic and described Srila Prabhupada's condition and dream, requesting makharadhvaja. The kaviraja wore Shivite tilak, but knew of Srila Prabhupada and expressed appreciation for His work and stature as a true holy man. The kaviraja had just completed making some makharadhvaja for another person, but scooped out from an apothecary-type jar the sufficient quantity for Srila Prabhupada and donated it free of charge. He said that this medicine should not ordinarily be taken by one as deteriorated in health as was Srila Prabhupada, but who was he to argue with Bhagavan in Srila Prabhupada's dream? He wrote a letter to Srila Prabhupada expressing these serious reservations and giving the instructions for its dosages, etc.
Adi Keshava left from Delhi back to the USA while Satadhanya returned to Vrindaban with the makharadhvaja. Just before his flight, Adi Keshava phoned Vrindaban and was shocked to hear from Gopal Krishna that Srila Prabhupada was taking the makharadhvaja while no one had showed Him the kaviraja's letter. Very upset, Adi Keshava left for New York.
Meanwhile, on the 25th Satadhanya arrived in Vrindaban with the makharadhvaja. In the Conversations Books, Vol. 36, pg. 73, we read:
Satadhanya: I have brought the makharadhvaja from the kaviraja in Delhi. This kaviraja, he's not Ramanuja-sampradaya, but many people say in Delhi that he's the foremost kaviraja in India. He treats the Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, and all the ministers also. So many people trusted him, and he mixed this medicine…He was mixing it for some other person, but when he heard that you were ill, he gave it to us.
Bhavananda: What kind of makharadhvaja?
Satadhanya: There's different kinds of makharadhvaja, six kinds. This is the most potent kind. This is called siddha makharadhvaja. This contains gold and pearl and musk and mica and many other ingredients…
Prabhupada: That's all right. What did he charge?
Tamal Krishna: What did he charge?
Satadhanya: Nothing. We got it for free because we got it through one influential man named Chandra Swami.
Prabhupada: Oh.
Tamal Krishna: Oh, Chandra Swami. That's that person Adi Keshava was always working with.
That same day, October 25, Srila Prabhupada took the first dose of makharadhvaja, and one dose the next day, after which He discontinued its use due to the negative effect of causing loose bowels. Thus Srila Prabhupada only took the makharadhvaja for one day.
In the summer of 1977, Bhagwat Prabhu recalled being sent by Adi Keshava to the New York airport to pick up Chandra Swami, who he thought stayed at the New York temple for some days, but which Adi Keshava denied, saying Chandra Swami had his own accomodations. Bhagwat also recalled that Chandra Swami cured Sudama Maharaj from a very serious illness with his medicines, and that Chandra Swami was a Shivite tantric and very expert in medicines and Ayurveda. Another devotee from the New York temple, Antima Prabhu, also had extensive association with Chandra Swami, but could not be located for an interview.
Lakshmi Nrsingha Prabhu, also from the New York temple, recalled that Adi Keshava and he went to see Chandra Swami at a rich lady's uptown Manhattan apartment, unsure of the date. They met with Chandra Swami for about two hours, when his mind reading abilities were displayed.
Gurudas and Giriraj spoke with Srila Prabhupada about Chandra Swami in December 1976 and January of 1977. Chandra Swami was mentioned as wanting to meet Srila Prabhupada and as going with Adi Keshava to meet the new USA President Carter. Tamal Krishna Goswami was working with Adi Keshava in New York as GBC from before July 1976 until mid February 1977, and presumably could also have met and associated with Chandra Swami, who spent much time in New York. However, Adi Keshava does not recall any meeting of Tamal with Chandra Swami. References to Chandra Swami in the following health biography are found on 12.26.76, 12.27.76, 1.8.77, 2.14.77, 4.11.77, 4.29.77, and 10.25.77.
OK, so what?
So, Chandra Swami is reportedly serving a life sentence in India's Tihar Central Jail for unspecified but numerous and serious crimes. The ISKCON Chakra website posted an internet article in December 1997:
"...so Srila Prabhupada suggested that someone go to Delhi. On October 24, the GBC sent Adi Keshava to Delhi, where he found a kaviraja preparing makharadhvaja. At the time, this kaviraja was not known to be a criminal. He had a reputation for impeccable morality and was even treating Morarji Desai, then prime minister of India."
A little history: Morarji Desai was imprisoned by Indira Gandhi after her proclamation of emergency rule for 19 months from late 1975 until March 1977, along with 150,000 other opposition politicians. Indira Gandhi held elections in March 1977 and was defeated. The jailed opponents were released and the Janata party, led by J.P. Narayan, selected Morarji Desai as the next Prime Minister on March 24, 1977. J.P. Narayan had called for massive civil disobedience in protest of Indira Gandhi's corrupt regime in June 1975, leading to his arrest with others. After five months in prison, however, J.P. Narayan was released to house arrest due to very bad health. There were stories in the Indian press in 1977 that Indira Gandhi had poisoned J.P. Narayan and others in jail. J.P. Narayan was still in a Bombay hospital in April 1977 when Giriraj and Gopal Krishna went to visit him. Srila Prabhupada noted that J.P. Narayan had the same kidney disease as He himself had. J.P. Narayan went to the USA for medical treatment, and died two years later in 1979.
Chandra Swami somehow moved as a favorite from one leader and regime to the next, apparently playing many sides simultaneously. He treated Prime Minister Morarji Desai with his expertise in Ayurvedic medicines, even though he was previously so intimate with Indira Gandhi that he could call her on the phone at any time. Later it was thought he may have been involved with the mysterious prison poisonings where "kidney disease" became a common ailment. Srila Prabhupada was purported to also have the same kind of kidney disease.
Considering his complex history of shady dealings, Chandra Swami was probably never an honest Ayurvedic physician who supposedly only went crooked after Srila Prabhupada's disappearance, as suggested by Chakra. Adi Keshava clarified that even in 1977 Chandra Swami was a crooked, slimey character. We are left to wonder if Chandra Swami was involved in the poisoning of Srila Prabhupada by supplying poison and giving instructions in its use. Considering his rap sheet today, it is not far-fetched to wonder what the Indira Gandhi/ Chandra Swami/ makharadhvaja/ Srila Prabhupada poisoning connection might be. Not only may the makharadhvaja from Chandra Swami have been "tainted," but he may have supplied poison for use against Srila Prabhupada. Enemies of Srila Prabhupada from outside of ISKCON could have hooked up with the poisoners inside ISKCON. The whole Chandra Swami connection smells bad.
Chakra's "brushing-off-as-coincidence" story is stretched even thinner when we read INDIA ABROAD's article of December 12, 1997:
CHANDRA SWAMY'S LINK TO
MURDER IS ALLEGED: (New Delhi)
Controversial religious guru Chandraswamy had links with the alleged assassins of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and had planned to help them escape from India after the killing, OUTLOOK magazine quoted a key witness as saying last week.
The witness, Jayaram Ranganathan, in custody in a high-security prison in Chennai, owned the house in Bangalore in which Sivarasan and Shubha, believed to be members of the assassination squad sent by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), took refuge and later allegedly killed themselves on Aug. 6, 1991. Ranganathan also claimed that a Congress Party leader from Karnataka had provided Sivarasan with details of Gandhi's itinerary.
Gandhi was killed by a woman, Dhanu, believed to be a suicide bomber of the LTTE. Sivarasan, her alleged accomplice, was found dead after reportedly consuming cyanide when the police surrounded his hideout in Bangalore.
"I am the only person alive who stayed with Sivarasan and Shubha (after the assassination) and heard what they had to say about the killing," Rangarathan was quoted as saying. He alleged that DR Karthikeyan, chief of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the killing, had threatened him not to name Chandraswamy or Congress Party leaders. "From what he (Karthikeyan) told me, it was clear that he was shielding Chandraswamy and some key Congress people," he said.
Karthikeyan, who is also special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Chandraswamy were not immediately available for their reaction when contacted by INDIA ABROAD.
Rangarathan said Sivarasan was told by LTTE chief Velupillai Phabhakaran that the "Jain Muni" (a reference to Chandraswamy whose real name is Nemichand Jain) would arrange his safe passage to a foreign country.
OUTLOOK had recently reported that crucial files related to the assassination were missing from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) since the tenure of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. The magazine said the files included intercepted messages from foreign intelligence agencies, said to be addressed to Chandraswamy.
Complicity in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi? Connections with foreign intelligence agencies? International arms deals? The editor of INDIA ABROAD also told this reporter in a telephone interview that Chandra Swami had been implicated in several Indian administrations as a go-between with bribes, shady dealings, and as a "bag-man." ISKCON COMMUNICATIONS JOURNAL, January-June 1993, contained an interview with a Mr. Vineet Narain, a man who was recently instrumental in weeding out large sections of corruption in India's government as a news reporter and investigator. Mr. Narain, an ISKCON devotee named Vishnumurti, who is now very interested in the poison issue, stated:
"I can give you an example of a person, (Chandra) Swami, you must have heard of him, he is a notorious swami, he is very good at winning people, he is a low-class person, he has no spiritual knowledge, not a fine person, he is not very sophisticated in his behaviour, yet at different stages he has cultivated hundreds of influential people in the world."
VNN posted a story on the internet about how Prithu Prabhu met someone on a plane wherein there was allegedly a revelation about a link between Adi Keshava, his father and the CIA. Adi Keshava explained that his father had retired from Defense Intelligence in 1962 and had taken up farming and engineering consultation work. His father was never in the CIA.
So what is the Chandra Swami connection, if any?
Nara Narayan Vishwakarma wrote to Rochan on 12.29.97:
"During the 'emergency' of Indira Gandhi... she imprisoned most of the important members of the opposition to the Congress party, including the Maharani of Jaipur who wrote a book which exposes Indira Gandhi's excesses. When the prisoners were released, many of them had experienced kidney failure. When I was in India in 1976, many Indian friends of ISKCON whispered about the fact that it was well known that kidney poison was being administered to Indira's political enemies (in jail). In 1977... kidney poisoning of very important men was well documented. (Also)... Vrindaban (and India) was full of enemies of Srila Prabhupada... the obtaining of the correct poison would not be at all difficult for any person close to Srila Prabhupada. At that time, kidney poison was being discussed in the (Indian) newspapers. Anyone who could read would know what to do."
It would be interesting if anyone could provide further information on this aspect of Indian history. Morarji Desai was chosen Prime Minister because Janata leader J.P. Narayan was too ill. On July 15, 1979, Morarji Desai resigned due to dissension within his party and criticism of his government as ineffectual. Desai was in his eighties and in good health, but not the charismatic leader J.P. Narayan could have been. In the January 1980 election, Indira Gandhi was re-elected in a landslide victory. Her son Sanjay died in a plane crash in 1980 and she herself was assassinated by her own military guard unit in 1984. Her older son, Rajiv Gandhi, later became prime minister and was also assassinated in 1990, a crime in which Chandra Swami was apparently involved.
An interview with Dristadyumna Prabhu revealed that he had met Chandra Swami at the New York temple in 1977, and was surprised to hear of his being in jail due to illegal activities. He remembered that Chandra Swami was "guru" for Adnan Khasnoggi, the infamous Saudi Arabian arms dealer, and that Chandra Swami spent time at Khasnoggi's palace in Spain.
In a letter to VNN on December 13, 1997, Bhagavat das wrote "...It was said in certain circles that when Indira Gandhi held Jayaprakash Narayan under house arrest she had poisons slowly administered that caused the deterioration of his kidneys and his death." The entire letter from Bhagavat is included in full under Appendix 18, as it is a valuable essay on the value of Srila Prabhupada's own words that someone had poisoned him, and this information will be presented in the next chapter.
Is there any relationship between Srila Prabhupada's poisoning and the dark and notorious Chandra Swami? Between Chandra Swami and Tamal Krishna Goswami or Jayapataka Maharaj? Many New York devotees and possibly some West Coast devotees also had been acquainted with Chandra Swami for about a year. Considering Srila Prabhupada's enemies in India, and Chandra Swami's connection with politicians and international intrigue, would going to Chandra Swami for medicine not now seem a little suspicious or out of place? There is no solid proof of any wrongdoing in the Chandra Swami connection, but it has the appearance of much more than a series of coincidences. (see also Appendix 20)
What really is the Chandra Swami connection?
CHAPTER 16:
"SOMEONE HAS POISONED ME"
Now we come to the evidence which is to many is the strongest evidence that Srila Prabhupada was poisoned. (see Appendix 18) Srila Prabhupada stated "…someone has poisoned me," found on tape recordings from November 9 and 10, 1977. Some portions were spoken in English and thus have been widely available in the Archives Folio program or in the Conversations Books, but much was spoken in Bengali or Hindi, which was omitted due to not being translated by the Archives or anyone else.
Now, for the first time in 22 years, this report presents newly obtained translations of Bengali and Hindi portions of these same conversations. One version comes from a Hindi devotee, Naveen Krishna Prabhu, a GBC and a longtime Srila Prabhupada faithful. The other translation comes from Dr. Jan Brzezinski, who also gave us the exact Bengali and Hindi being translated. Dr. Brzezinski learned to speak fluent Bengali and Hindi during his eleven years in India. He was seriously injured in the Muslim attack on Mayapur that is mentioned in the health biography. He later received his Ph.D. in Sanskrit from the University of London, School of Oriental Studies. He has taught courses in Hindi at the University of Manitoba, and his current work is translating various Vaishnava literatures. Dr. Brzezinski was employed by this reporter to render these translations.
Much of the Bengali and Hindi conversation regarding poisoning is between Srila Prabhupada the Calcutta kaviraja, also referred to as Sastriji. Dr. Brzezinski has listened to many of the last twenty tapes and has made some interesting notes included at the end of this chapter. It is clear that a full and accurate translation of all of Srila Prabhupada's Hindi and Bengali conversations should be done, as information critical to the poison issue may well be contained therein. Upon inquiry, this reporter learned that the Bhaktivedanta Archives has not had the manpower or funding to undertake this project, although past attempts were made but did not produce results.
In speaking to Naveen Krishna about his translations, he pointedly stated that only a native of India who was born and raised with the language could accurately understand the subtle nuances and meanings contained within these conversations. From his own judgment, he has no doubt that Srila Prabhupada was clearly stating that He was being poisoned. Translations by Naveen Krishna are shown as NAV, those by Dr. Brzezinski (formerly Hiranyagarbha das, initiated by Srila Prabhupada 1970) are shown as HIR, followed at the end by his comments. Thus we have both a scholar and a native providing us with two versions to compare and to be doubly sure of the true meanings, avoiding the curse of the phrase, "lost in the translation." Sometimes we have only one translation version because, simply, that is all we obtained. Bhakticharu Swami has also translated most of these same portions in exactly the same way, and this was posted on the internet in ISKCON's answer to the CD that never was. (see Appendix 21)
Room Conversation: Vrindaban, November 9, 1977. (Not the 8th)
Srila Prabhupada's Conversations Books, Volume 36,page 354:
Book states: "Hindi conversation between kaviraja, Prabhupada and others."
(Balaram Mishra exchanges greetings with Srila Prabhupada, and asks if he is still recognized since they had not met in a long time; Srila Prabhupada says yes. A few moments later:)
001: Srila Prabhupada: Keu bole je keu poison kore diyeche. Hoy to tai.
NAV: Someone says that I've been poisoned. It's possible.
HIR: Someone says that someone gave poison. Maybe it's true.
002: Balaram Mishra (?): Hmm?
003: Kaviraja: Kya farma rahe hain?
NAV: What is he saying?
HIR: What are you saying?
004: Srila Prabhupada: Koi bolta hai je koi mujhko poison kiya gaya hai.
NAV & HIR: Someone says that someone has given poison.
005: Kaviraja: Kisko?
NAV & HIR: To whom?
006: Srila Prabhupada: Mujhko.
NAV & HIR: To me.
007: Kaviraja: Kaun bolta hai?
NAV: Who said?
HIR: Who is saying this?
008: Srila Prabhupada: Ye sab friends.
NAV: These all friends.
HIR: All these friends.
009: Bhakticharu: Ke boleche, Srila Prabhupada?
NAV: Who said, Srila Prabhupada?
HIR: Who said this, Srila Prabhupada?
010: Srila Prabhupada: Ke boleche.
NAV: They all say.
HIR: Everybody's saying it.
AUTHOR'S COMMENT: Did Srila Prabhupada overhear "all these friends" (his disciples) whispering in his room about how they gave him poison? Why does Srila Prabhupada state this in Hindi and Bengali, and only later in English? END COMMENT
011: Tamal Krishna: Krishna das?
012: Kaviraja: Ao ko kaun poison dega? Kis liye dega?
HIR: Who would give you poison? Why would anyone do that?
013: Tamal Krishna: Who said that, Srila Prabhupada?
014: Srila Prabhupada: I do not know, but it is said.
AUTHOR'S COMMENT: It is puzzling why Srila Prabhupada says He has been poisoned, but twice becomes evasive when asked directly by Tamal Krishna. Could it be that Srila Prabhupada did not want to discuss it with Tamal but wanted to bring it up with the kaviraja? END COMMENT
Replies
EXCERPTS
...the evidence is solid that Srila Prabhupada was poisoned, but by whom is not yet known. The level of proof, coincidences, and circumstantial evidence, makes for a very compelling verdict. (Foreword)
This letter, or book, organizes the evidence and information to date (April 1999) regarding the poisoning of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, most probably carried out by some of His "closest" disciples. (Foreword)
"...the GBC is convinced that no such evil deed or even intention existed at the time. The GBC is certain that Srila Prabhupada's passing away was due to entirely natural causes, as his doctors stated. ...some persons are bent on establishing the false and malicious theory that some of Prabhupada's own disciples conspired to poison him." ISKCON statement, Dec. 7, 1997.
Srila Prabhupada: Vahi bat... je koi hamko poison kiya.
(That same thing I said, that someone has poisoned me.)
-Final statement about poisoning late on November 10, 1977.
Kaviraja: dekhiye, bat hi hai, ki koi rakshas ne diya ho.
(Look, this is the thing, that maybe some rakshasa gave him poison.)
Bhakticharu: He's saying that someone gave him poison.)
Tamal Krishna: Prabhupada was thinking that someone had poisoned him.
Kaviraja: Yadi bolta hai, to kuch na kuch sac hi hai, koi sandeh nahin.
(If he says that, there must be some truth to it. There's no doubt.)
Bhakticharu: He said that when Srila Prabhupada is saying that, there must be something truth behind it.
Tamal Krishna: Tssh.
Tamal Krishna: Srila Prabhupada, Sastriji says that there must be some truth to it if you say that. So who is it that has poisoned?
PAUSE of 13 seconds: Srila Prabhupada never answered Tamal.
-Excerpts from conversations on November 10-11, 1977.
"He noted a number of symptoms observed in Napoleon, and in that way managed a description that could have come straight out of a modern textbook on toxicology of the symptoms of arsenical intoxication."
...Assassination at St. Helena, Forshufvud & Weider
A lethal dose may be indicated by as little as 5 ppm of arsenic in the hair. Compare this to the 3 ppm found in Srila Prabhupada's hair. (Chapter 35)
Further, when the symptoms of chronic arsenic poisoning are confirmed by an actual hair analysis, as has been done, then there can be no doubt of the accuracy of this diagnosis. (see Chapter 33)