by HG Manidhara Prabhu (ACBSP)
As much today the name „Harikesha“ has little meaning for the new generations of devotees and public in general, this epilogue of a large portion of my life being spent under his management and personal guidance may serve as a testimony which offers hopefully a balanced view upon his service to Srila Prabhupadas mission and its end.
For me today Harikesha is a living shadow of his past, entierly disconnected from his spiritual master and his mission, including his service as diksa guru of the guru parapampara he was originaly initiated into.
His words today, his life and his attempts to still „preach“ to others are meaningless.
As a bipolar diseased person his words are unpredictable and bereft of any credibility, may they one day be spoken with respect to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami or another day in disrespect, blaming Srila Prabhupada for ones own misfortune. Personaly I strongly discourage devotees to associate with him as he ,as any narcist may do, never admitts any of his wrong decissions affecting in the past lifes of so many, but declares them to be simply initiated by others or done „due to circumstances“. His claim to be cheated includes most poisoness assumption that it was Srila Prabhupada who cheated him as well. Not one sincere appology was issued from his side to others sofar. The fact that he is not activly involved in contributing to preaching mission of Srila Prabhupada speaks for itself.
Such offender can be only avoided.
Nevertheless:
I am by no means associated with the frustrated and angry critics of Harikesha.
None of them in the past and in the presence was able to do what he has done.
It is only pathetic how, still deriving benefits from what he has done being empowered, such fellows indulge by undiscriminately criticising him.
Being initialy empowered by Srila Prabhupada he arived in Germany as a „secret East Countries preacher“ ordered by Srila Prabhupada to leave his personal service to him and „do finaly something“ by opening new preaching fields in the East.
That was when I met him first time, a very strickt and austere sannyasi, who was largely ignored by the german ISKCON management. He was given an old van and fixed it himself in the parking yard so he can go East. The program was secret and so I know little about it, myself being day and night on the street as sankirtan devotee, distributing Srila Prabhupadas books.
Harikesha arived in a devastated yatra who faced a monumental legal process due to Hamsaduttas wild and provoking actions. Hamsadutta, a bold preaching pioneer, was not much concerned with standarts or effects of his preaching, but was amazingly empowered to attract many simply by dint of his hours lasting ecstatic kirtans.
Finaly Hamsadutta being forced to leave Germany after police runn over the temple, Harikesha, until then a visiting „underground preacher“ , was by Srila Prabhupada ordered to become the GBC.
The myth of power-greedy and Srila Prabhupada poisoning demons taking over his movement is a myth only, even surely individuals like Bhavananda, Bhagavan and Tamal Krsna felt comfortable to asume such dominant positions….even in Srila Prabhupadas presence. That the list of eleven names of diksa gurus, (not rtvik!) was meant by Srila Prabhupada to be just beginning and not the end of guru parampara was tragicaly ignored. Afterall , Srila Prabhupada expressed his desire that all his disciples become after his departure diksa gurus. (If qualified!!!)
The pain of loss of Srila Prabhupada was projected into these eleven totaly unprepared devotees and it was the public pressure and the public expectations which they felt obliged to which catapulted them into positions which proved finaly deadly for them.
Whatever I write in this text is not based on any testimonies of others, but on what I personaly saw and experienced. It may be concidered subjective and I surely give credit to my critics that it is so.
And so I saw Harikesha being finaly seated as the new diksa guru on a Vyasasana in Schloss Rettershof, Germany accepting the first guru puja. During the guru puja he jumped from the Vyasasana and crying runn up the stairs shouting „you are all mad, I am not Srila Prabhupada!“
It was him who suggested that the new gurus start with rather low profile, low simple Vyasasanas and the attitude „lets see how we are doing“. I personaly saw him stating this and doing this.But being voted over within the GBC by above mentioned devotees, he in name of „unity in perversity“ surrendered to their demand „not to lower the standarts of guru worship in ISKCON“. It was here where his decline started, and manifested finaly many years later.
But „inheriting“ a total devastated yatra, in a country where the best of german fashism was demonstrated to us, being hunted on the streets by police and public like some sort of animals, Harikesha worked day and night ,sitting in his small room which was actualy a coridor, behind his small table on the floor, often not having time even to take shower. He looked always totaly overworked and sickly, suffering still from diseases he collected in India while serving personaly Srila Prabhupada.
His preaching was powerfull, uncompromising and for those who remained in the german yatra, (most left,following Hamsadutta in a mood of personal cult created around him), it was most envigorating to hear Srila Prabhupada being quoted all the time.
Harikesa rebuilt the german yatra so to say from scratch, initiating powerful book production and distribution. During his managerial days more books in many languages were produced and distributed in his zone reaching from Balcan countries up to Island, as during Srila Prabhupadas presence on the whole planet.
No wonder he was inspiring leader for so many.
Well, not for all. Seeing his and my godbrothers leaving one after another his zone meant for me, and it still means, to have only one reason: envy. They left, I stayed.
Sofar I was concerned, even being treated in managerial field ocassionaly by him truly in uncompromised and firm fashion, all his corection of my shortcomings and my conditioning proved to me to be true. Not only he offered constructive criticism but also instantly offered an alternative to correct the action. As sankirtan devotee I got from him all what I needed for my service and as manager I got from him all the correction and all the protection I needed. (Today I see the few managers who are left getting only corection but no protection from anybody. Hence its no wonder, speaking for Europe , ISKCON is in total chaos).
His personal involvement based on my testimony would provide enough material for a book which could demonstrate how an empowered godbrother can be instrumental not only to the mission of his spiritual master but also to faciliate those who desire the same. His gradual decline culminating in a lunatic frenzy was of course tragic.
It is easy to point out only him to be the ultimate „culprit“, but without involement of GBC as such whose members were contrary to us completely aware of his increasing lunacy and his desire to give up his more and more compromised position, including his sannyas asrama, but who intimidated and forced him to remain in this compromised position due to the immense cash flow emanating from his zone, (much of Srila Prabhupadas samadhi in Mayapur was financed by collections of devotees from his zone), he became vocabulary like a sacrifical animal, used to he last dollar without regrett and the concern for his personal life and the resulting devastating chaos after his complete implosion. ALL those GBCs who allowed him to go that far are guilty of faciliating this desaster. My personal believe is that if stepping down and faciliated to take care of his increasingly manifesting disease, changing his asrama, desaster which followed could have been at least minimized.
But these are today only rhetoric considerations. It is customary in the ISKCON world until today to use surendered souls to the last financial potential and then dispose them like outdated goods.
And so Harikesha in today entierly disfunctional form may be a warning for those who continue to act in simmilar way, all the authistic and narcistic „leaders“ who enter Srila Prabhupadas ISKCON only to turn it into „another ISKCON“ along their needs and pseudo spiritual motivations. Traveling still most of the time and seeing the sober and „manisinah“ ,or thoughtfull class of devotees retreating into unplaned and unwanted exile while „fools dash in where angels dont dare enter“ , me and many other have to live in a prayer that the more sober class of men may prevail one day, giving Srila Prabhupadas movement the profile it deserved. As one of the more sober devotees shared with me his desparate mood:“ When will the day come we will truly realize what an amazing gift we received from Srila Prabhupada and be worthy of it!“
ISKCON is not dead as some may proclaim. It is surviving, nourished by the often invisible underground stream of mercy flowing from the lotos feet of guru parampara outside of the institutional dogmatism ordained by kanistha adhikari class of men.
It is this stream ANYBODY can tapp into and it is here where those sincere at heart find nourishment. The mercy they receive manisfests in strong desire they develop to do anything in their reach to introduce others to Krsna Consciousness by dint of:
- book distribution
- hare nama public chanting, (no „retreat“! 🙂
- and prasadam distribution
It is the sincerity and sober attitude of such sober devotees which may attract simmilar minded ones and so it can be hoped that Srila Prabhupadas movement will asume the profile it should have by not being represented by chaotic, asocial,dogmatic, deranged and fanatical class of men who despite chanting the Holy Name only attract another class of homeless renegates who in deranged state of mind profess as self appointed „preachers“.
For myself, managing the ISKCON „lunatic asylum“ for almost thirty years as temple president, it is truly envigorating to find the association of jewell-like devotees, often unrecognized by the official ISKCON authorities, dignitaries who claim to be „the ultimate managerial authority“ without accepting the „ultimate managerial responsiblity“.Like a sect on its own, these men and women truly live a world on their own, (speaking for Europe).
As we know from the sastra, thanks to a blessing a mouse can become a tiger…and eventualy ,if missusing such blessing, a mouse again. One can only ignore the internet amplified squeeking of the frustrated and impotent mouses and seek inspiration at the roots of the branch of the tree Lord Caitanya planted. Those branches being broken of the tree may still profess to be part of it, but their dry leafes are a the testimony to their „vimukta maninah“, mental state of pseudo „Krsna Consciousness“ only. Meanwhile those who are contacted, however small branch they may be, they may flourish by the nourishment they receive from the roots. Lets become part of that wonderfull garden Srila Prabhupada left for us to be taken care of and not allow it to grown into a jungle filled with predators thirsting for human flesh.
