“CHAPTER 75: TAMALISM (Cont.)- WAS TAMAL POSSESSED OR CONFLICTED? -“I want to tell you a story told personally to me by Krishna Balarama Swami (American body). He was in the Krishna Balarama temple in Vrindavan and was watching TKG do arotik one day and saw, to his fright, a horrible looking creature or demon hunched on TKG's shoulder while he was performing arotik. This demon could see that Krishna Balarama Swami could see him and this frightened the Swami greatly, what to speak of seeing this creature on the shoulder of TKG. He left the temple after seeing this.” (Damaghosh, Sept.26, 2015)
This story is verified by several others who heard directly from Krishna Balarama Swami, who was a simple, honest, and unpretentious devotee. Also and similarly, a friend of Viswamitra das in Dallas said he saw a horrible creature on Tamal’s shoulder while he was doing arotik. Because this testimony is so widely known, we include it, unusual as it may be. Or was Tamal schizophrenic, with a split-personality behavior, being apparently a normal devotee one day, and something entirely different the next? Many refer to Tamal as a dual personality, as he fluctuated between the apparently divine and demoniac extremes. Or was he possessed by a demonic being, causing his double personality and dark side? This is quite a common affliction. Tamal had an internal conflict between spiritual sincerity and great personal ambition. He was intelligent with serious flaws, and his life was one of struggle between ambitions and spiritual conscience, of conflict between his love and his envy for Srila Prabhupada. Externally and in the ways that could be seen, Tamal usually recovered from each self-made disaster and then resumed his services again, but only to fall prey once more to his dark side. Yes, he was a seriously disturbed and conflicted person.
WAS TAMAL SENT TO OBSTRUCT THE SANKIRTAN MOVEMENT? -There is the thesis which many accept, in light of the catastrophic harm Tamal inflicted on the Hare Krishna movement, that Tamal was empowered and sent by forces opposed to the success of Lord Chaitanya’s movement. We must remember that in Kali Yuga, the anti-divine forces are disguised as devotees and sannyasis. This makes sense considering Tamal’s effect on ISKCON. Another example of this phenomenon is in the Mahabharata (Purnaprajna das, 1998, p. 268-9); Duryodhana was a benediction from Shiva to the Daityas and Danavas, meant to assist the demoniac forces of the lower regions against the Pandavas and devotees.
“The Daityas and Danavas had been residing in the regions below the earth ever since they had been defeated by the demigods. Now, having understood the determination of Duryodhana [for suicide], the demons felt that their mission was being weakened and so they began to perform a particular ritual which would summon the Kaurava king. Then, when the brahmanas poured the libations into the sacred fire, a ghastly-looking goddess emerged from the flames and stood before the demons, awaiting their command with folded hands. The demons ordered her, ‘Go up to the earth and bring Duryodhana back here into our presence.’ In an instant, the goddess went to where Duryodhana was sitting and brought him in his subtle body to the assembly of demons. The Daityas and Danavas gave Duryodhana a very respectable welcome and after praising him highly they said, ‘O King, if you commit suicide then it will only go against your self-interest and lead you to a life in hell.’ Then, in order to encourage Duryodhana, the demons divulged the mystery of his origin as follows: ‘Long ago, we had engaged in the worship of Lord Shiva, and as a result we received you as a benediction... This is the secret of your celestial origin, and you should also know that many Danavas have already appeared upon the earth in order to help you to defeat your enemies. In addition, there are other demons who are assigned to possess Bhishma, Kripa, Drona, Karna, others so that they will give up all affection for the Pandavas and thus become very hard-hearted while engaged in battle with them. Therefore, you can rest assured that when these three come under our influence, they will be able to slay the Pandavas by dint of their increased prowess. ’O Duryodhana, you should give up your fear of Arjuna, for the soul of Narakasura will soon take possession of Karna so that his prowess will be irresistible. Indra knows about this, and so he will disguise himself as a brahmana in order to beg for Karna’s natural armor and earrings. However, to compensate for this, we have already sent thousands of Daityas and Rakshasas who will possess the warriors known as Samsaptakas (those who have sworn to either conquer or die; these are the one akshauhini of soldiers which were later on given by Krishna to Duryodhana). Because of this, they will also be capable of killing Arjuna. My dear Duryodhana, you are our sole refuge and so please give up your despondency and return to Hastinapura in order to rule over the earth.’ After saying this, the demons embraced Duryodhana just like he was their son and indeed, the Kaurava king became pacified by their assurances. Duryodhana was then carried back to the earth by the goddess who had brought him, and thus he was placed within the body that remained seated [...]. When the goddess departed, Duryodhana opened his eyes and all which he had experienced was just like a dream. Still, within his mind, the Kaurava king was now convinced that he could defeat the Pandavas with the help of Karna and the Samsaptakas...”
Is it so incredible if Tamal was sent to obstruct Srila Prabhupada’s mission and mercy? Not really, because whenever and wherever the Lord or His representative descends, the anti-divine also appear as opponents to the Lord’s mission. Srila Prabhupada warned that the movement could be destroyed from within, and Tamal did that very well. He also made it clear that the devotees will always meet opposition from the godless, which include the anti-divine interests that do not want the planet Earth re-spiritualized in Lord Chaitanya’s Golden Age. There is little doubt that demoniac interests are highly invested in the continued and increased degradation of human society. The above account about Duryodhana was only about 5,050 years ago, or in the Earth’s relatively recent history. (Srila Prabhupada’s Hidden Glories 1.410)
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