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3/I/04
Krishnadas Kaviraja Das (KKd), member of the GBC
Executive Committee writes:
Bhaktimarga Swami and myself were talking with
Kamsahanta Prabhu in Toronto on Dec 25th. As you know he is very
fired up about getting to the bottom of the poison issue. All of us,
including Kamsahanta Prabhu, wish that we did not have to discuss
this, but the fact remains that it was very poorly dealt with by the
GBC.<
Praghosa Das (Pd), Chairman of the Governing
Body Commission (GBC) writes:
That is not my conviction but I
guess we are all entitled to our opinion.
Bhaktivedanta
Investigation Force (BIF) writes:
No one is entitled
to an irresponsible opinion on anything, not even a Chairman of
the GBC. We have presented forensic reports, audio proof,
and documented facts, in a dossier of evidence ("Judge For
Yourself"), which clearly reveals a concerted effort
by the GBC to deceive devotees through false propaganda in
their paid for, authored, and endorsed book- No That I am
Poisoned (NTIP). Who needs the opinion/conclusion or
convictions of another beneficially motivated member
of the GBC? ....Not us! What is required here are
conclusions resulting from an official, unbiased, professional inquest:
a secular investigation.
KKd:
I know that it has affected some members of our
congregation who have discussed it with me. Unfortunately I fear
that it may only be the tip of the iceberg and that many who have
not come forward to inquire about it have drawn their own
conclusions and no longer support ISKCON. Our attendance and Sunday
collections have all gone down, (due to any number of factors), but
I can't help but think that this poison issue is one of them.
Pd:
Maybe, particularly if the local
ISKCON leaders share the same doubts as the congregation.
BIF:
So what we are being given to
understand is that if doubts exist about anything, including
murder, convince the congregation (and yourself) that it isn't true. Investigation
is unnecessary. Silence the desideratum for truth with
answers that carry the weight of undisputed ISKCON authority...truth
is not the issue, leadership is.
KKd:
I know that an investigation will hurt some devotees, but if a house
is built on a shaky foundation then it is often necessary to destroy
part of the house to repair the foundation. An independent
investigation would go
a long way to re-establishing trust in the GBC from members of our
ISKCON who have been marginalized by the past actions of the GBC and
other devotees.
Pd:
An investigation will only hurt
someone if there is some truth to the accusations.....,
BIF:
If an investigation will
only hurt someone if there is some truth to the accusations,
then why has there been no professional investigation commissioned?
The answer to this could only be- someone will get hurt,
otherwise why is the GBC publishing bogus propaganda, denying
forensic reports, and substituting unqualified authority for
professional opinion?
Pd:
.....which I don't believe there
are...
BIF:
If there is no truth to the
allegations, and the investigation will only hurt someone if there
is, then let's do it. Why wait another moment? Let us resolve
this matter once and for all by proving the GBC conclusions
superior to forensic scientists who recommended
that a homicide investigation be undertaken. Let
the investigation show that the GBC was right and His Divine Grace
was wrong when he told Tamal Krishna Goswami, Bhakti Caru et al,
that he had been poisoned: "We
asked Srila Prabhupada later what was the cause of his mental
disturbance. Prabhupada
disclosed his thoughts that someone
has poisoned him." TKG's
Diary, p 340. Let the investigation prove that
"chronic" poisoning, concluded from NAA findings of
endogenous (ingested) contamination, was nothing more than an
accidental, single, 'acute' dosage of toxin adulterated
medication. Let the investigation show that audio forensic
scientists were wrong when they discovered 'poison
whispers' on audio recordings made at Srila Prabhupada's death bed.
Let the investigation justify the nonsense 'testimonies' of the
'inheritors' who accepted Srila Prabhupada's plaint but did
nothing official to prove or dis-prove it; who hid the truth
for two decades, and now attempt to discredit the facts by
contradicting their own audio documented statements made at the
scene of the poisoning. Let the investigation prove
that His Divine Grace was hallucinating when he said that if he did
not get away 'Ravana' would kill him. Let's do it.
Pd:
Therefore your statement that
"I know that an investigation will hurt some devotees"
seems a little prejudicial - no?
BIF:
No! How can
this be considered prejudicial unless a concluded investigation has
established the innocence of all parties? But there has
been no such thing, ergo your own prejudice must be considered.
There is always concern that devotees will be hurt by an open
investigation. Actually, according to your statement below**,
this is the reason why you feel an investigation is futile.
However, Mr. Chairman, since you are giving us some vague assurance
that there is no truth to the allegations, an 'official'
investigation is the only solution. The suspects will
feel no pain, the GBC will not have to lie and cheat any longer
(hmmm?), and we will have to shut up, wont we? So....?
KKd:
It is important to put this behind us, but it
must be done only after every stone has been turned. If we try to
bury this issue without a proper investigation, then not only will
there be a poisonous effect on Srila
Prabhupada (from whatever source), but ISKCON will feel the
ever-increasing effects of the poison isssue as it festers and
grows.
Pd:
You talk about an independent
investigation, yet in the same breath you suggest an attempt to
'bury' the issue.
BIF:
Mr. Chairman, how quickly you
identify the words "índependent
investigation" yet fail to note the words "proper
investigation". Don't
believe that by juggling superlatives you can shift obligation.
What KKd is telling you is that the GBC has not conducted a proper
investigation. He is a member of your club, not ours, yet
he cannot get past the truth ie. the GBC is ducking
responsibility.
Pd:
Obviously such comments suggest,
at the very least, a lack of independence on your part?
BIF:
.......and, at the very
least, an inability to hear and respond honestly on your part?
KKd:
I happen to work as a respiratory therapist,
mainly in intesive care. We occasionally see cases of gangrene in
our patients. If the gangrene is covered up or ignored it will lead
to the ultimate death of the patient.
We are trying ot nurture Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON, if we ignore
this issue we could lose limbs instead of toes, or succumb to death
of ISKCON as we know it. This would be our fault. Let us be good
caretakers of Srila Prabhupada's legacy and get to the truth of the
matter, regardless of the cost.
Pd:
Personally I do not see that any
ignoring of this issue ever took place (and I have read JFY and
listened many times to the CD).
BIF:
There are none so blind as
those who will not see. The report-Judge For Yourself (JFY), has
proved beyond a shadow of doubt that the GBC lied with intent to
cheat devotees when they published and endorsed the book- NTIP.
They did not simply ignore the issue,
they lied, and falsified 'expert' statements to impose a deception.
Yet, here is Praghosa das, telling us that he has read JFY and
heard the CD many times, but
cannot SEE.
The truth will always remain
inexplicable as long as the range of observation is not wide enough
to include the context in which it manifests. (Paul
Watzlawick)
Pd:
What I do see is a determination
by some to be convinced of some wrong doing regardless of what
evidence or testimonies are forthcoming.
BIF:
Are you still referring to that
nonsense book- NTIP? What 'evidence' are you talking about? Whatever
evidence exists, points unequivocally to a (positive)
cover-up of a (yet to be officially investigated) fatal
poisoning. It was this evidence, when apparent, prompted
the GBC to immediately shut down the only (internal)
investigation attempted, and then release a book of deception.
As for the 'testimonies', you must be, yet again, referring
to the contradictory statements made by suspects and their
cronies in the same dubious book (NTIP). In the event of an
investigation, the recently published/documented 'testimonies'
will be compared to the existing audio statements made by suspects
at the scene of the poisoning in '77. Not even a half-wit
would be convinced of innocence when exposed to such a comparison.
Readers can see for themselves on www.B-I-F.com ,
we have asked Bhakti Caru some simple questions re. the
contradictions in his testimony. Instead
of answering these questions, this guru is now doing the
kangaroo.
Pd:
Conspiracy theorists are rife in
society, I guess by default ISKCON will have a corresponding ratio
of
conspriacy theorists - what to do?
BIF:
Society is also rife with
criminals, so it is safe by this logic to conclude that ISKCON has
its corresponding ratio of murders, thieves and liars. By
this same logic, the GBC would have its share of felons and so would
the GBC Executive Committee - what to do?
Pd:
Srila Prabhupada left this mortal
world 27 years ago, I doubt even the CIA would be able to find a
conclusive result from investigating this issue.
BIF:
It becomes quickly evident that
you, the GBC Chairman, like your regime, foster a
take-it-or-leave-it attitude. No issue is above the enforced
amateurisms of you self-appointed omniscients. Here we get YOUR opinion
on why we don't need a professional opinion. To this point in your
letter, we are dumped with conviction, opinion, belief,
vision, doubt, and unsolicited conclusions, yet sanity
demands that this serious allegation of murder be addressed by
an accredited/certified agency.
Pd:
Recently in the UK two 10 year
old girls went missing. Their bodies were found 2 weeks later. Yet
all the modern forensic techniques were not able to conclude how the
girls died.
BIF:
There were no
suspicions...Sherlock. This case, on the other hand, has it
all at first glance: suspects; motive; audio evidence
of plaints made by the deceased; audio evidence confirming the
suspects heard/believed/agreed with the plaint but did not report it
to authorities or ever make it public; forensics evidence confirming
poisoning; expert attestation of 'poison whispers' indicating a
conspiracy to commit homicide; contradictory and alarming statements
by the suspects; proof of a cover-up and; unshakable evidence
that the GBC worked in concert once the silence was broken to
shut down the investigation and mislead everyone involved with lies
and deception. We also have evidence, like this letter, which
proves that a concerted effort is/was/has been made by the GBC to
shelter the suspects from exposure to due process.
There is more that will not be mentioned here. Using the
two girls as a reason for not pursuing the evidence in this case, is apples
and oranges.
Pd:
So while I personally have no
problem with an investigation (why would I, I was a 15 year old
school kid at the time and knew as much about ISKCON as I did about
life on Mars)
BIF:
This blasé attempt to show
detachment, isn't entirely wasted on us. Albeit your
non-involvement with the crime in motion breeds a certain
nonchalance, you are a puppet Chairman; a junior to the
powers-that-be within the ISKCON cult. Your
decisions are neither spontaneous nor without censure. Ergo your
opinion represents the power brokers; the self-proclaimed
'inheritors' who were there at the scene of the poisoning....the
suspects themselves.
Pd:
**I
think it is a futile exercise and will achieve little else but
continued rumour and non-fact based accusations.
BIF:
Only a few lines ago you
wrote- An
investigation will only hurt someone if there is some truth to the
accusations, but now you base the futility of an
investigation on 'rumour and accusation'? Surely
an investigation would put an end to rumour and innuendo, not foster
it. After all, the poison issue is an issue because there
has been NO conclusive INVESTIGATION.
Pd:
However don't let my boredom with
this issue deter you in your attempts to achieve whatever your
convictions are dictating to you.
BIF:
Boredom may be a greater problem
for you than you realise. Here you are, trying to
convince concerned followers of His Divine Grace, that the GBC stopped
the investigation; hid the facts; feigned indifference; lied
and cheated, simply to bore you. Righteousness is
only so when united with candour and sincerity- the moment it
is discovered that these traits are missing, sanctity
accounts for very little, if anything at all.
Pd:
I would only request of you that
you keep an open mind and try to avoid unfounded conclusions as your
above letter contained.
BIF:
We keep open minds but not
so open that our brains fall out. So how can there be founded
conclusions without founding an investigation, first? Anyway,
get on your own couch Dr. Freud- your mind is clammed
shut.
Pd:
Yours in the service of Srila
Prabhupada,
BIF:
Nonsense! You are reading from
the GBC sales pitch.
Pd:
Praghosa dasa.
Ps I'm trusting that my comments will not find there (sic) way
to any persons/internet sites/web pages etc., etc.
BIF:
Wishful thinking.
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