This is an excerpt from a podcast, a five part series about ISKCON and New Vrindaban to be broadcast later this year. This excerpt is titled:
Hare Krishna, Episode Three, V4.
I, Henry Doktorski, am the historian / consultant for these five podcasts. My job is to make sure what the writer writes is historically accurate. When I read this excerpt, tears come to my eyes.
======================
Swami Prabhupada, (SWAH-mee PRAH-boo-pahd) lies in bed in a sacred temple in Vrindaban, India. It’s November of 1977 and the revered founder of the Hare Krishna movement is near death.
Outside the door, dozens of his followers chant, imploring God--Krishna--to bring him back to health.
The swami chants softly too, but he asks for nothing. He knows what happens next is up to Krishna.
Memories wash over him. Was it really only twelve years ago that he stepped off a freighter in New York City? He weakly turns his head to Puri Maharaja, a dear old friend and God brother in the Gaudiya-Math, who was also initiated decades ago by His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada, who sits by side. The two God brothers speak in Bengali. None of Swami's disciples know what the two are talking about.
SWAMI: Puri, do you know I almost died on the way to to New York? I had a heart attack. There was no doctor on that boat. I was almost seventy. What business does an old man have going halfway around the world with nothing but a pot to cook rice and a few rupees in his pocket?
PURI: What business!? Krishna’s business. He had a plan for you.
SWAMI: Yes, he had a plan. But what is his plan for when I’m gone?
[It’s a question that’s been troubling the Swami for a long time. He never imagined the movement would grow so fast or so big. There are nearly a hundred Hare Krishna temples and tens of thousands of followers in thirty countries. Celebrities have given their talents and money. George Harrison recorded the hit song “My Sweet Lord” in praise of Krishna. Henry Ford’s great-grandson donated a historic mansion for the Detroit temple. The Hare Krishnas raise millions of dollars a year by publishing books and making candles and trinkets. But many also solicit for non-existent charities and sell counterfeit merchandise. And they do it under orders from their temple leaders.
The Swami is probably not aware of the extent of the temple leader’s scams. Although he once wrote that it was acceptable to “beg borrow or steal to raise money for Krisha,” he was referring to things like panhandling, not serious crimes. Now the Swami worries some of his disciples are taking begging and stealing too far.
He is dying and he has no time to fix things. Almost every day a letter with a new problem arrives - disciples unhappy with their arranged marriages or disputes between temple leaders.
Puri takes a cloth and gently wipes the swami’s brow. It’s a sad irony that the only person the Swami can trust is Puri. Puri isn’t one of his disciples. He is his God brother; has his own temple, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind to the dying spiritual master and founder/acharya of ISKCON.]
PURI: Unless you stay, there will be no peace and unity among these Westerners. They are very strong heads. They won’t unite. After your demise, the institution will be nowhere if you don’t make a decision.
SWAMI: I should call myself Problem-pada.
[He knows Puri is right. That’s why he created the Governing Body Commission seven years earlier. He divided the world into zones and appointed a leader to oversee each one. He made it clear that none of them were on the same spiritual level as him and therefore none of them could take over when he died. His hope was that they would keep each other in check. But they immediately began to compete for power and influence.
Maharaja Puri disagrees with the swami’s plan.]
PURI: You have selected eleven gurus. There can be no harmony. Guru must be one.
SWAMI: I have not selected eleven gurus, Puri. I have given them a lower rank. I selected eleven ritviks, not gurus.
PURI: As long as you survive, they are lower rank. After your demise they will declare themselves gurus.
[The swami looks into his friend’s eyes. They’re full of love but there’s sorrow in them too.]
SWAMI: What shall I do now, Puri? I have done my duty. Everything is Krishna’s will. What can I do?
[Puri places a cool cloth on the swami’s brow.]
PURI: Chant. We’ll chant together.
[The swami gently chants the mantra that has brought him solace, peace and enlightenment for his entire life. Words he will soon say for the last time:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
[maybe add some chant music under this. Then finger cymbals gently ping one final time.]
On November 14th, 1977, swami Prabhupada, age 81, draws his final breath.
His death is peaceful.
What happens afterward is anything but.
I, Henry Doktorski, am the historian / consultant for these five podcasts. My job is to make sure what the writer writes is historically accurate. When I read this excerpt, tears come to my eyes.
======================
Swami Prabhupada, (SWAH-mee PRAH-boo-pahd) lies in bed in a sacred temple in Vrindaban, India. It’s November of 1977 and the revered founder of the Hare Krishna movement is near death.
Outside the door, dozens of his followers chant, imploring God--Krishna--to bring him back to health.
The swami chants softly too, but he asks for nothing. He knows what happens next is up to Krishna.
Memories wash over him. Was it really only twelve years ago that he stepped off a freighter in New York City? He weakly turns his head to Puri Maharaja, a dear old friend and God brother in the Gaudiya-Math, who was also initiated decades ago by His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada, who sits by side. The two God brothers speak in Bengali. None of Swami's disciples know what the two are talking about.
SWAMI: Puri, do you know I almost died on the way to to New York? I had a heart attack. There was no doctor on that boat. I was almost seventy. What business does an old man have going halfway around the world with nothing but a pot to cook rice and a few rupees in his pocket?
PURI: What business!? Krishna’s business. He had a plan for you.
SWAMI: Yes, he had a plan. But what is his plan for when I’m gone?
[It’s a question that’s been troubling the Swami for a long time. He never imagined the movement would grow so fast or so big. There are nearly a hundred Hare Krishna temples and tens of thousands of followers in thirty countries. Celebrities have given their talents and money. George Harrison recorded the hit song “My Sweet Lord” in praise of Krishna. Henry Ford’s great-grandson donated a historic mansion for the Detroit temple. The Hare Krishnas raise millions of dollars a year by publishing books and making candles and trinkets. But many also solicit for non-existent charities and sell counterfeit merchandise. And they do it under orders from their temple leaders.
The Swami is probably not aware of the extent of the temple leader’s scams. Although he once wrote that it was acceptable to “beg borrow or steal to raise money for Krisha,” he was referring to things like panhandling, not serious crimes. Now the Swami worries some of his disciples are taking begging and stealing too far.
He is dying and he has no time to fix things. Almost every day a letter with a new problem arrives - disciples unhappy with their arranged marriages or disputes between temple leaders.
Puri takes a cloth and gently wipes the swami’s brow. It’s a sad irony that the only person the Swami can trust is Puri. Puri isn’t one of his disciples. He is his God brother; has his own temple, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind to the dying spiritual master and founder/acharya of ISKCON.]
PURI: Unless you stay, there will be no peace and unity among these Westerners. They are very strong heads. They won’t unite. After your demise, the institution will be nowhere if you don’t make a decision.
SWAMI: I should call myself Problem-pada.
[He knows Puri is right. That’s why he created the Governing Body Commission seven years earlier. He divided the world into zones and appointed a leader to oversee each one. He made it clear that none of them were on the same spiritual level as him and therefore none of them could take over when he died. His hope was that they would keep each other in check. But they immediately began to compete for power and influence.
Maharaja Puri disagrees with the swami’s plan.]
PURI: You have selected eleven gurus. There can be no harmony. Guru must be one.
SWAMI: I have not selected eleven gurus, Puri. I have given them a lower rank. I selected eleven ritviks, not gurus.
PURI: As long as you survive, they are lower rank. After your demise they will declare themselves gurus.
[The swami looks into his friend’s eyes. They’re full of love but there’s sorrow in them too.]
SWAMI: What shall I do now, Puri? I have done my duty. Everything is Krishna’s will. What can I do?
[Puri places a cool cloth on the swami’s brow.]
PURI: Chant. We’ll chant together.
[The swami gently chants the mantra that has brought him solace, peace and enlightenment for his entire life. Words he will soon say for the last time:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
[maybe add some chant music under this. Then finger cymbals gently ping one final time.]
On November 14th, 1977, swami Prabhupada, age 81, draws his final breath.
His death is peaceful.
What happens afterward is anything but.
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