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Someone Has Poisoned Me - BY: NITYANANDA DAS
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The Facts About Srila Prabhupada's Poisoning by Arsenic
"So as Krishna was attempted to be killed... And Lord Jesus Christ was killed.
So they may kill me also." (Srila Prabhupada, May 3, l976, Honolulu)
"my only request is , that at the last stage don't torture me, and put me to death"
(from SPC Vol. 36, November 3, 1977 tape recorded Room Conversation)
[PLEASE NOTE: ADDRESSES, EMAILS, PHONE NUMBERS ETC. MIGHT NO LONGER BE CORRECT!]
The CD produced by Dhaneshwar Prabhu in the Lockport, NY studio of Jagannath Prabhu in January 1998, after hearing it, was deemed by this reporter to be a faulty and incomplete exposition of the poison issue. Somehow copies made their way to the ISKCON GBC and other places. This reporter decided not to distribute the "Poison CD" but to continue the investigation privately and produce a written report later. Apparently the GBC worried that the CD was being made available, and they composed a rebuttal, held ready for the expected release of the Poison CD. ISKCON's response was leaked on the internet and the GBC was obliged to officially release it the next day. The Poison CD never was released. Thus ISKCON was replying to nothing. It is lengthy but mostly superfluous; it is reviewed here in abbreviated form. This reporter's comments will be shown in italics.
ISKCON's Reply to the Poison CD: VNN: May 21, 1998. (Story #1809)
This paper has been issued by the Ministry For The Protection of ISKCON, and has been compiled by Jahnu dasa and Hari Sauri dasa.
Over the last few months a rumor has surfaced that Prabhupada supposedly was poisoned by some of his closest and most trusted disciples. Just recently a Poison CD or PCD and equivalent tape came out, which, although hiding behind the banner of neutrality and claiming no other intention than getting to the truth of the matter, strongly and in not so subtle terms suggests that Srila Prabhupada was in fact poisoned by his Western disciples and that there is a conspiracy being perpetrated by the GBC to cover this up. The following will show that this proposal is without any basis. The so-called evidence that is being presented on the Poison CD is, upon closer examination, actually found to be very loosely constructed and rather insidious at its core. First we will present a few logical arguments against the idea that Srila Prabhupada was being poisoned by his disciples.
(Next there is a long section about Srila Prabhupada's wanting to go on parikrama in November 1977. If there were those who wanted Srila Prabhupada dead, why did they resist the parikrama proposal which almost everyone thought would bring Srila Prabhupada's demise due to the extreme hardship for His weakened and ill body? It seems that those wanting Srila Prabhupada dead would support the parikrama and thus not need to resort to poisoning. But this is a weak argument for how Srila Prabhupada's disciples could not have poisoned Srila Prabhupada, or whoever it may have been.
Everyone knew how bad it would look if the Western disciples negligently "killed" Srila Prabhupada on parikrama. The Vrindaban residents and all Hindus would take it as totally irresponsible. The publicity would be so negative that ISKCON's prestige would greatly suffer. There was no choice but to discourage the parikrama. Further, whoever was poisoning Srila Prabhupada could have been doing it for a long time already, and Srila Prabhupada appeared to be only a few days away from departing anyway. Why not look protective of Srila Prabhupada by opposing a "dangerous" parikrama? Srila Prabhupada was on the verge of departing anyway; a deadly parikrama was simply not going to be helpful to the poisoners; the poison was their chosen method.)
A further point to consider is who exactly would want to kill Srila Prabhupada and what would be their motive? Some proponents of the "Ritvik" idea of guruship have postulated that some members of the GBC who were named by Srila Prabhupada in his letter of July 9, 1977 wanted him removed from the scene as quickly as possible so that they could become full gurus in their own right rather than be proxies for Srila Prabhupada. According to their logic, Srila Prabhupada was about to state that he didn't want his disciples to be full gurus, and to prevent this and thus fulfill their own ambitions, they poisoned him to death. Obviously such a task couldn't be the work of just one devotee. There would have to have been a conspiracy. An astute observer would have to ask how is it possible to keep a conspiracy like that tight without any leaks for 20 years, especially in ISKCON? And if there was a conspiracy, how was it possible to keep Bhakticharu Swami out of it? He would have had to be in on it. But what would be his motive? He was not one of the originally appointed gurus nor did he become one until after the guru reforms in 1987.
(Why is it difficult to imagine the possibility that a group of poisoners have managed to remain undetected for 22 years? Napoleon's murder was not discovered for 150 years. Blanche Taylor Moore poisoned many people in her life and family for over twenty years, avoiding detection by family, doctors, hospitals and the law. We already have strong indications and substantial proof that there was a poisoning conspiracy. Rather than denounce those concerned about this possibility as demons and enemies of Srila Prabhupada, why not cooperate together openly and honestly in an enlarged investigation? Let's settle the matter for all time. More audio tests, more hair analyses, interviews, forensic research, etc.
Who knows what motives each possible participant in a poisoning could have had? Revenge, financial gain, power... Some may have been unknowingly involved. Some who knew may have been afraid of their lives. Some may have been bribed. Poisoning Srila Prabhupada would only make sense to those who thought they could gain from it. Becoming guru in 1978 may not have been the only motive. Murder is always incomprehensible and illogical, so what is the use of saying "it doesn't make sense?" Rather, let us focus on issues of symptoms, hair tests, etc))
(Next is presented Abhiram's lengthy report on Srila Prabhupada's medical condition and diagnosis of dropsy, which is included in full in Appendix 4. In Chapters 17 through 31 we have already read how a diagnosis of kidney disease (and dropsy) is a misdiagnosis, or at least only a partial diagnosis. Certainly there is the appearance of kidney disease, but no qualified allopathic doctor ever had the opportunity to reach a correct diagnosis because they were not able to do proper tests or examine Srila Prabhupada for more than a few days before being rejected. This is clear from the health biography. The medical evidence points to a health condition other than kidney disease, and actually very clearly spells out a case of chronic arsenic poisoning.)
On the PCD it is claimed that it has not been possible to obtain clear medical records of Srila Prabhupada's physical condition prior to his departure.
(Yes, at the time the CD was produced there had not been information collected to produce a health biography to study the physical symptoms of Srila Prabhupada's illness. Thus the CD was never produced nor distributed. Since the passage of time and the release of TKG's Diary however, a thorough health biography was compiled. And it reveals chronic arsenic poisoning.)
The PCD authors would have it that Srila Prabhupada showed strong symptoms of someone being poisoned (Well, isn't it Srila Prabhupada who said that?), but while they suggestively attribute this to sinister origins, we shall now present some more medical facts to show that such symptoms were indeed to be expected in someone of Prabhupada's physical condition, as also confirmed above by Dr. Karl Otto Jacob.
(Hari Sauri next quotes lengthy portions from Scientific American about the symptoms of kidney disease and a statement by a Dr. Jacob who was apparently given a basic review of Srila Prabhupada's symptoms according to the limited knowledge of Hari Sauri and Jahnu Prabhus. This reporter humbly requests Hari Sauri to take this book with its health biography and symptom analysis back to Dr. Jacob and as many other doctors as possible to give an opinion on the possibility of arsenic poisoning. This book contains the most complete assemblage of medical history on Srila Prabhupada to date.
Of course kidney disease will be the first thing to come to any doctor's mind. Also, Srila Prabhupada may have had kidney ailments for many years before any poisoning began. But that is exactly why someone might chose to use arsenic- it is virtually undetectable and resembles other ailments, and causes kidney disease as well. It was a perfect cover!)
Chronic renal failure is a state of progressive and irreversible deterioration of renal function that results from a wide spectrum of diseases Note that it is said that diabetes is one of the major causes of chronic renal failure.
(Chronic renal failure can also be caused by heavy metal poisoning. In Appendix 7, there is a description of diabetes symptoms and a review of how Srila Prabhupada did not, by symptom analysis, have diabetes serious enough to produce symptoms of diabetes. Later, Hari Sauri states that he had no indication whatsoever during his 18 months as personal servant that Srila Prabhupada had diabetes. In the absence of any conclusive medical tests diagnosing Srila Prabhupada's disease, we are left to analyze by symptoms from biographical data. This method, although not foolproof, strongly indicates arsenic poisoning (Chapters 17-32). Hair analyses provide the irrefutable proof desired. One hair test already has revealed very abnormally high levels of arsenic in Srila Prabhupada's hair of October 1977. As a matter of fact, it is hair that was in the possession of Hari Sauri Prabhu for 21 years!
Hari Sauri criticizes the CD's use of Dr. Mehta as proof of arsenic poisoning, and rightly so. Dr. Mehta's opinion based on photos and a video are obviously not substantive, but served only as a hint as what to look for in the symptoms analysis of Chapters 17-32.)
But surely it would be reasonable to expect that if someone is being given arsenic, he'd exhibit all the symptoms of arsenic poisoning and not just some of them. Yet some prominent symptoms of arsenic poisoning like inflammation of the mouth, running nose, vomiting, and increased salivation were in fact, according to eye witnesses, not visible in Srila Prabhupada's body at any stage. Couple this with the fact that the other symptoms exhibited by him, as we have already shown at great length, were rather to be expected from a person in Srila Prabhupada's medical condition of renal failure, and we see the observations about possible arsenic poisoning are extremely weak and specious. It is simply unacceptable from a medical point of view to diagnose a disease and attribute its causes to a particular outside agent simply on the basis of a few visible symptoms, especially when the same symptoms can easily be attributed to other more likely natural causes. The ethics of such a practice would surely have to be questioned.
(From the study of arsenic poisoning, we see that different symptoms will manifest in different cases, and not all possible symptoms always manifest. Further, Srila Prabhupada did have mouth ulcers, persistent respiratory problems like cough and mucus, vomiting, and drooling, which were observed by eye witness accounts as chronicled in the previous chapters. Again, it is obvious Srila Prabhupada did have kidney problems. What Hari Sauri does not understand is that Srila Prabhupada exhibited many symptoms of arsenic poisoning that are not found in kidney disease. Perhaps if he were to study arsenic poisoning symptoms AND kidney disease symptoms, he would be better prepared to analyze the medical history. And is 45 symptoms a few?)
We have seen, it was clearly explained in the Scientific American as well as by Dr. Karl Otto Jacob that, "Typical symptoms of renal insufficiency leading to uremia are: anorexia (total loss of appetite), gastrointestinal disturbances, peripheral polyneuropathy, high blood pressure and heart problems, edema, in the last stage cerebral problems up to coma."
(What about the photophobia, conjunctivitis, constant cough and mucus, and all the other non-kidney disease symptoms that happen to be arsenic symptoms? Not one symptom Srila Prabhupada exhibited is incompatible with a diagnosis of chronic arsenic poisoning! And now arsenic poisoning is further confirmed by the analysis of Srila Prabhupada's hair.)
Yet, as will become apparent from the conversations of November 9 - 10 discussed herein later on, Damodar Prasad Sastri, the highly experienced doctor who was physically with him right up to the last moment, did not detect any symptoms of arsenic in Srila Prabhupada's body, and never mentioned the possibility of it at all, even though Srila Prabhupada himself discussed directly with him the possibility of his being poisoned. Nor did Prabhupada's nurses, Abhiram Prabhu and Bhakticharu Swami, nor any of the other doctors who saw Srila Prabhupada.
(It comes as no surprise that no one could detect the arsenic poisoning now verified by analysis of Srila Prabhupada's hair. Sastriji probably never saw one other arsenic poisoning patient in his entire career. All the toxicology texts make it very clear how very difficult it is to detect arsenic poisoning, either acute or chronic, but especially chronic. Arsenic poisoning resembles other common ailments, but does not respond to treatments or medicines for those other ailments. Sound familiar? Srila Prabhupada never responded to any medicine. A little later we see Bhakticharu Swami's "professional knowledge" that poisoning turns someone blue! None of Srila Prabhupada's caretakers were medically qualified in the least. How would they be able to recognize the most undetectable of poisons? Actually, Sastriji said that if Srila Prabhupada thought He had been poisoned, it must be true, and he spoke at length about poisons. Sastriji gave full credence to the notion of poisoning.)
We present here an reliable eye witness account a better understanding.
"During Srila Prabhupada's last days he mentioned about poison soon after Makaradhvaj was given to him. That was about three weeks before his disappearance pastimes. At that time, I felt that the effect of that medicine may have been detrimental to his condition and therefore he spoke in that way. The next time he spoke about poison was a few days before his disappearance. At that time according to the instruction of the Kaviraja from Calcutta, I was just giving Srila Prabhupada milk diluted with water and sweetened with sugar candy. The Ayurvedic doctor was gradually increasing the quantity of milk. He informed us that the milk intake would cure Srila Prabhupada. Personally I did not notice any unusual bodily symptoms in Srila Prabhupada. He used to lie on the bed all the time. Sometimes he used to express some discomfort from lying on his back all the time. Therefore, he used to ask us to turn him on his side. At that time his body had become so delicate that we had to help him to turn to his side very carefully. If we were not extremely careful then he would feel pain. Two or three days before his disappearance, His Divine Grace mentioned a pain in his left thigh and he also mentioned about poison again.
The day he left his body sometime during late morning or early afternoon it seemed that the pain in his left thigh became so acute that he started to writhe. By that time he had stopped speaking. The last time he spoke was the night before, at about 12 o'clock, and he told the Ayurvedic doctor from Calcutta about some discomfort he was feeling. When Prabhupada started writhing in pain, making some faint moaning sound, Bhavananda Maharaja, who was sitting on the bed next to him held him tightly and from that time onwards Srila Prabhupada became very still and practically did not move at all. From time to time he only opened his mouth and I poured some Yamuna water, which he drank with great relish. Although his body became totally still, yet his tongue was constantly vibrating. Srila Krishnadasa Babaji Maharaja, a god-brother of His Divine Grace, pointed out that Srila Prabhupada was chanting the holy name incessantly. Besides these his body did not display any unusual symptoms. Although His Divine Grace spoke about poison, I could not take it seriously for two reasons:
1. The Ayurvedic doctor was present, and as Prabhupada displayed quite a lot of confidence in him, I felt if Srila Prabhupada was really poisoned then this doctor would have detected it.
2. I was under the impression that when someone is given poison then his body becomes blue.
However, at that time Srila Prabhupada's body became very shiny, almost golden, and he did not display any sign of pain or unusual discomfort. Apart from his usual unhealthy condition, Srila Prabhupada was quite normal. All the time he used to quietly lie on the bed very calm and composed. Sometimes he used to give advice to the senior leaders about how to manage the society; form different trusts and what to do with the funds. His consciousness was so clear that it was obvious that he was transcendentally situated. Even though he was only a few days away from leaving his body, his voice was very strong and resonant. Therefore, those of us who were present around him at that time were convinced that he was a completely spiritual personality and he was just displaying his disappearance pastime.
One day, after checking his pulse, the Ayurvedic doctor, Damodar Prasad Sastri, told Prabhupada that he was completely surprised while treating him. At one moment his pulse was so weak that it seemed as if he was about to leave his body, and the next moment it was strong and healthy as that of a young man. He also told Prabhupada that he was only displaying his pastimes. From another point of view, we also saw that he was having difficulties with his kidneys. As a result of that, his legs and the back of his palms were swelling up. When the medicine started to work the swelling went down. He obviously had some kidney problems and the doctors gave medicines accordingly.
I also want to mention something that I consider was a mistake on our part, yet we could not really do anything about it. One night when I was attending Srila Prabhupada in Hrsikesa, he told me that the time had come for him to leave his body and he wanted us to make arrangements to take him to Vrindavana. I ran downstairs and woke up Tamal Krishna Maharaja and told him what Srila Prabhupada had said. When Tamal Krishna Maharaja came to His Divine Grace he repeated the same words to him. The next morning we left for Delhi, and the following morning we took His Divine Grace to Vrindavana. That morning, after he settled down in his quarters, he called me and told me not to cook for him anymore, or force him to eat anything. I felt that His Divine Grace was preparing to leave his body like Pariksit Maharaja, without eating and drinking anything.
By that time the news had spread all over the world and many leaders came to Vrindavana. When they requested him, with tears in their eyes, to continue to stay, His Divine Grace agreed. Once again I started to cook for him and he started to eat. One day he asked me to fetch an Ayurvedic doctor called Vanamali Kaviraja from Gopinath Bazaar. As a result of the treatment by that doctor, Srila Prabhupada's condition started to improve. However, when his health improved, His Divine Grace wanted to go to the West to preach. When Vanamali Kaviraja got to know about Srila Prabhupada's plans, he requested me not to let him go. He told me that his medicine was working and Srila Prabhupada's condition was improving.
However, he said that Srila Prabhupada's condition had not become completely healthy yet. He was planning to give Srila Prabhupada Makaradhvaj, during winter, which would rejuvenate him completely. He mentioned that Srila Prabhupada's condition was not strong enough to absorb Makaradhvaj because it was a very strong medicine. Therefore he planned to give it to him in winter, by that time Srila Prabhupada's health would become strong enough to absorb it, and the cold weather would help.
I was just a new devotee at the time and when I saw that Srila Prabhupada was so determined to go to the West I could not really make a strong enough endeavor to stop him from going. Srila Prabhupada's plan was to go to Hawaii after visiting London, New York, Gita Nagari, and Los Angeles. However, when in London his condition deteriorated so much that he had to come back after about a week-long stay. Vanamali Kaviraja resumed his treatment but Srila Prabhupada's condition had deteriorated so much that his medicine did not work and he stopped the treatment. Vanamali Kaviraja did not want to give Makaradhvaj when Srila Prabhupada's health was so much better before he went to the West. However, it was administered to him only about three weeks before his disappearance when his condition was much worse than that time. Also, it was administered by a doctor from Delhi who never even saw him.
Soon after that Srila Prabhupada started to speak about poison. Therefore it seemed to me that he was speaking about the adverse effect of Makaradhvaj. After Srila Prabhupada's disappearance I often used to lament internally - why didn't I stop him from going to the West? Why I didn't I tell the GBC members and senior devotees present in Vrindavana at that time what Vanamali Kaviraja told me? Why didn't I stop them from giving Srila Prabhupada Makaradhvaj that was brought from Delhi and given by a doctor who did not even see him? Now I cannot do anything about it besides lamenting about my uselessness."
(It is encouraging that another of Srila Prabhupada's caretakers, besides Abhiram Prabhu, has finally said a little something about the history and circumstances surrounding Srila Prabhupada's 1977 health. Hopefully Maharaj will answer the many questions that will be put to him and others as this investigation proceeds. There are 7 points regarding Maharaj's statement:
1. That Maharaj did not see any unusual symptoms means nothing: arsenic poisoning symptoms are practically unrecognizable except to a trained and experienced eye. His thinking that poison turns the body blue does not reveal much, if any, qualification to recognize the symptoms of poisoning. Maharaj should show this book to his toxicologist disciple in New York.
2. Srila Prabhupada said three times that He was being poisoned, and the kaviraja said that if Srila Prabhupada said it, there must be truth to it. Can Maharaj not take it seriously as he knows better than Prabhupada?
3. Srila Prabhupada's voice was definitely not strong and resonant during His last months with us. Listen to the tapes, read the health history.
4. Why does Maharaj not mention anything of the sudden and drastic attack of illness Srila Prabhupada experienced in Hrishikesh, which was what made Srila Prabhupada think He was about to die?
5. That Maharaj says he thinks Srila Prabhupada's statements about being poisoned referred to the makharadhvaja is an easy way out. This faulty explanation is dealt with in Appendix 16, where it is shown that this explanation doesn't hold up to close scrutiny.
6. Contrary to Bhakticharu's statement, the kaviraja took the possibility that Srila Prabhupada was poisoned very seriously. Rather than lamenting about giving makharadhvaja when maybe it wasn't the best idea, Bhakticharu should lament about why no one took Srila Prabhupada's statements seriously and stopped the poisoning, better late than never.
7. That Srila Prabhupada appeared "quite normal" to Bhakticharu only means that the poisoning was chronic, not acute with blatant symptoms.
After this touching report from Maharaja we quote from Hari Sauri's Transcendental Diary to show that the diseased condition of Srila Prabhupada's body wasn't anything new but was an ongoing thing.
(Hari Sauri's references to Srila Prabhupada's earlier health problems . are included in Chapter 20, Srila Prabhupada's Health History. Just because Srila Prabhupada had a history of kidney problems, in no way invalidates an assesment of arsenic poisoning, nor does it prove that His 1977 symptoms were due to only kidney problems. Is there any reason why someone with kidney disease cannot be poisoned with arsenic?)
We asked Hari-sauri Prabhu, who, apart from being with Srila Prabhupada continuously from November 1975 until March 1977, was also with His Divine Grace for almost three weeks in late May and early June 1977, and the whole month of October in Vrindavana, about Prabhupada's attitude towards his disease and curing it:
"During the whole period I was with Srila Prabhupada I never once heard him mention that he had diabetes, nor did I notice that he ever made any specific changes in his diet in response to that condition. Nor did I ever hear the cooks that traveled with us at various times (Harikesh Swami, Nandarani dasi, Jamuna dasi, Palika dasi, Arundhati dasi, Sruti Rupa dasi) mention that they were preparing any kind of specific diet for him to counter that condition. As far as medicines go, he also never took anything for the treatment of diabetes. When I was with him he took some Ayurvedic medicines, none of which were for diabetes - Yogendra Rasa, which I understood was a kind of brain tonic, every morning until the fall of 1976, when he stopped it completely; Triphala Churna on occasion for constipation; and Bhaskar Lavan (black salt), which he took occasionally for digestion.
Beyond these medicines, which were self-prescribed, he was sometimes advised to take allopathic, homeopathic and Ayurvedic medicines by a variety of doctors when he became ill, but again, he almost never took their advice nor their medicines. He stated his personal policy on medical treatment to Dr. Patel in Bombay on August 15, 1976 and I have included that in Volume 4 of A Transcendental Diary:
'Dr. Patel... inquired from Srila Prabhupada about his health and whether he was taking any medicine.
Prabhupada accepted his concern, but in his usual self-effacing manner, shook his head and quoted Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.4, saying that the real medicine is the chanting of the holy name. 'Nivritta-tarshair upagiyamanad... Dr. Patel laughed. 'Shall we call that Pandit Ayur-Vedacarya of India for you? If you don't believe in our medicine?' Srila Prabhupada also laughed. 'No, no.' 'What I mean to say,' Dr. Patel continued, 'is that ksetra [body] and ksetrajna [its owner] are dependent on each other; if there is no ksetra, there will be no ksetrajna to stay. So you have got to look after that ksetra, or what the ksetrajna will be happy there to live there? I think I am not wrong.' Prabhupada chuckled. 'No, you are right. Ksetra is changeable, ksetrajna is permanent.'
Although Dr. Patel knew very well His Divine Grace's opinion on taking medicine, he still tried some friendly persuasion and this led into a short discussion about Indian medicines... Dr. Patel expressed his concern again for Srila Prabhupada's own health. Taking permission to raise his question he asked, 'Now then, Arjuna was so advised that he should fight out. So in that case, I mean we all consider he was right to follow Krishna's advice? Then if a man is overtaken by disease and if he fights out that . . .' Prabhupada smiled at his persistence. 'No, no, I don't say that he should not fight. It is my personal choice. Not that one should not take care of the body or one should not eat medicine, that is not . . . I like this, "Let me do without medicine." That is my personal . . 'What is medicine?' Dr. Patel asked. 'Any herb is a medicine. Even food is a medicine.'
'Whatever it may be,' Prabhupada said. 'I don't decry medicine. That is not my business.' 'No, no, I don't say decry. But you don't want to take advantage of medicine,' Dr. Patel insisted.
'Medicine,' Prabhupada said objectively. 'Just like a type of vairagya, sometimes they do not eat. That does not mean eating is forbidden. It is not. It is my personal, I am trying to avoid, that's all.'
'You have heard the name W. C. Bannerji? He was a big barrister. He was one of the three inaugurators of Congress in the beginning. So he had his friend, contemporary, he was a brahmana. He was taking daily his bath in the Ganges, and if he was diseased, was drinking Ganges water. So he became seriously sick. So this W.C. Bannerji, he was a big man. So he asked his permission to bring some doctor. "'You'll die in this way."' So he persisted, '"No, I shall simply drink this Ganges water."' So it is not that medical science is in defeated position.'"
We can thus understand that Srila Prabhupada made a conscious decision not to take any precaution against his diabetic condition. This inevitably leads to the conditions described above by Abhiram (Appendix 4) and in Scientific American. If Prabhupada showed symptoms of poisoning this is explainable according to the known natural bodily medical conditions. Talk of arsenic poisoning is at best spurious and, even without the "intense scrutiny" mentioned on the PCD, but with a little commonsense and an unmotivated examination of the available facts any unbiased person can understand that Prabhupada's body did in fact succumb to natural causes.
(1. Diabetes? As Hari Sauri said, there is very little indication that Srila Prabhupada had very much of a case of diabetes.
(2. Again, it is agreed that Srila Prabhupada had symptoms of kidney disease. But an overall analysis of His physical symptoms brings us to a clear diagnosis of chronic arsenic poisoning.
(3. How "spurious" is the finding of 5 to 10 times (minimum) normal levels of arsenic in Hari Sauri's own hair relic of Srila Prabhupada?)
From the PCD: "We found that there were 75 days between July and October, out of 92, for which there are no tapes recorded, including 45 consecutive days from August 18 through October 1. We ask why were no recordings made at that time. Or, if indeed recordings were made, what happened to them? " (Tamal's comments on missing tapes was cut and moved to Ch. 13.)
SRILA PRABHUPADA TALKS ABOUT BEING POISONED
A number of devotees, although not inclined to believe that a conspiracy along the lines suggested by the Ritviks is true, are nevertheless disturbed by how Srila Prabhupada himself appears to talk about his being poisoned.
(Rtviks? The discovery of Srila Prabhupada's poisoning is not simply some trouble concocted by rtviks, but a fact established by the mass of corrobarating evidence presented in this book and quietly held by the GBC's own poison investigation committee. Bhakticharu translated the same sections where Srila Prabhupada spoke of being poisoned, and they were practically identical to the versions provided in Chapter 16. The only difference is where the kaviraja either says makharadhvaja is or is not suitable for Prabhupada.)
These translations and transcripts do in any case reveal a confusing scenario. Srila Prabhupada indicates first to Tamal that he had the symptoms of someone poisoned, not that he was being poisoned. Later he states more positively that he is being poisoned. While we may never know Srila Prabhupada's mind exactly, or how seriously he took the suggestion that someone may be poisoning him, what we do learn from these transcriptions is that the possibility of his being poisoned is discussed with his disciples present, both from a medical standpoint with the talk of mercury, and from the idea that an outside person could be deliberately doing it. We also learn Srila Prabhupada was not the first one to take up the matter of his being poisoned, rather he referred to "someone" telling him that he was being poisoned. No conclusion, however, appears to have been reached. Thus we can only say that Srila Prabhupada did not seem to think that his intimate servants were responsible. Also, if one considers the intense loving exchanges that went on in the last days, with Srila Prabhupada expressing appreciation for concerns that he not go on parikrama, calling them his "left hand and right hand," one concludes that he did not feel threatened by them. On the contrary, it is perfectly clear even to someone who was not present to witness it firsthand, that he was reciprocating in a loving way with them to a degree not seen practically at any time in ISKCON's history.
(Srila Prabhupada's statements about being poisoned is discussed in Chapter 16. It is very naive to think Srila Prabhupada could not have been poisoned because He did not name anyone and dealt with everyone lovingly. Did Christ object to his crucifixion, or condemn his assassins? With much evidence in hand to confirm Srila Prabhupada's poisoning, appearances that devotees were not the poisoners may be misleading and cannot be ruled out. Napoleon was guarded by 5000 British soldiers on a remote island, yet he was poisoned and it took 150 years for this to be discovered. Because Srila Prabhupada was surrounded by devotees and now it is 22 years later, this does not mean His poisoning is a myth or impossible.)
WILL O THE WHISPERS:
It has been alleged that a number of "whispers" have been found on tapes of conversations which contain the word "poison" in various phrases. This "evidence" has been taken so seriously that at least three different parties have sent the tapes to forensic labs for professional analysis. Modern techniques of spectrographic sound analysis as well as standard enhancement of the "whispers" by sophisticated audio playback equipment have been employed to ascertain whether there is any truth to this idea.
To any neutral devotee it is inconceivable that a person or persons serving Srila Prabhupada in such an intimate manner as existed in the last days in Vrindavana could whisper "the poison is going down [giggle], the poison is going down," watching Srila Prabhupada gulp down poison. As we see from the following evidences, their credulity and faith need not be stretched for there exists no evidence to support such a notion. The GBC appointed an independent investigator (Balavanta) to oversee a professional forensic analysis of the tapes to ascertain if there is any truth to these claims. These results are still pending but after preliminary tests and lab feedback, Balavanta expressed doubt that any definite evidence will be found to exist. Apart from this, several GBC's have conducted tests themselves with sophisticated equipment; the results are indeed interesting. According to their analyses, the word "poison" simply does not appear.
(The amateur audio "tests" by Harikesh, Bir Krishna Swami, and Rabindra Swarup are then referred to, and their respective statements thereof are included in earlier chapters herein. Should we give these devotees' amateur opinions about the whispers more credence than the results of many audio forensic laboratories? Contrary to the ISKCON statement, there is over 400 pages of evidence supporting an arsenic poisoning of Srila Prabhupada. Is the notion inconceivable to the 90 % of former ISKCON devotees who now live outside ISKCON? Not at all... Besides, the truth will not be established by vote, any more than gurus can be made by votes.
Five audio forensic laboratories (Balavanta's as well) have agreed that the word poison is found repeatedly on the "poison" tape. ISKCON is so heavily sunk in a state of utter denial that should Srila Prabhupada Himself come forward and say, "Someone has poisoned me," they would ignore it!)
By doing this exercise I have seen that when one has an idea in his head as to what is being said, the ears and the mind oblige us to and make us hear that very thing. One can completely reprogram his hearing by just wanting to hear something else. It is extremely hard to understand what is being said if one has a preconception.
(Yes, the ISKCON spokesmen also are hearing what they want! But the professionals at the audio forensic laboratories have no such prejudices.)
(Next ISKCON refers to the giggle in the whisper "the poison's going down.")
One factor to consider here is that the person giggling is Prabhupada's godbrother, Krishnadas Babaji Maharaja who was known to continuously giggle due to his constantly being in good humor from his incessant chanting of the Holy Name. Is it likely that such a great soul would participate in such a horrendous crime? (No one knows who is giggling, much less ISKCON.)
To build a whole theory of a poison conspiracy on such vague statements is certainly far fetched. In any court of law such a weak case would immediately be dismissed. On the other hand it is a very serious offense to accuse someone of murder, especially without any conclusive proof. On the flimsiest excuse for evidence they have accused devotees who love Prabhupada of committing an unspeakably monstrous crime against him, and they have systematically spread these charges. They have put the lives of devotees in danger.
(Yes, the whispers alone do not represent a tight case for poisoning. But they cannot be so easily brushed aside, either, especially in light of all the other evidence indicating poisoning. How about some lie detector tests, sodium pentathol tests, interviews, and COOPERATION rather than obstinate denial? And further, no one is accusing anyone of murder. Not yet. The investigation into Srila Prabhupada's poisoning should be conducted rationally and with cool heads. Are we to dismiss further investigation because someone's life may be endangered? No, we are not responsible for isolated irrational acts by nuts.
The real unfortunate thing here is how damn sure ISKCON is that there could not possibly be anything wrong. ISKCON might be a little concerned rather than enter the dark tunnel of denial. The bottom line is the POISON word has been isolated, analyzed, recognized, confirmed, and certified by many top notch audio forensic laboratories, working independent of each other. How about an explanation from Tamal and company as what they were doing whispering the word poison in the background, over and over?
No one thinks the whispers will convict anyone or establish foul play on their own merits. However, when one takes into consideration ALL of the evidence, then it becomes clear that indeed Srila Prabhupada WAS poisoned.)
CONCLUSION: We hope that the above has shown that no solid evidence exists either medically or through the recorded medium to establish that Srila Prabhupada was deliberately poisoned, and certainly not by his disciples. Rather, we feel that the love of those surrounding Srila Prabhupada was genuine and self-evident. It was accepted as such by His Divine Grace and as his disciples and followers, we should have no difficulty in accepting that also. This theory has sprung up after 20 years and we believe it should be dismissed and laid to rest. Sincere devotees can go on serving Srila Prabhupada and his ISKCON society with a clear consciousness and should not be disturbed by elements who do not have the best interest of his society and devotees at heart. The only genuine poison is the theory itself.
(The real poison today is the mood of denial. Poisoning rumors started when Srila Prabhupada said He was poisoned. May this publication will result in a renewed and cooperative attempt to resolve this most disturbing question: If Srila Prabhupada was poisoned, who did it? May truth and justice prevail.)
Srila Prabhupada left this mortal world on November 14, 1977.
But He lives forever in His instructions, and His followers will always live with Him.
"He reasons ill who tells that Vaishnavas die
While thou art living still in sound!
The Vaishnavas die to live, and living try
To spread the Holy Name around"
(Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thākura)
HARE KṚṢṆA HARE KṚṢṆA KṚṢṆA KṚṢṆA HARE HARE
HARE RĀMA HARE RĀMA RĀMA RĀMA HARE HARE