On tape recorded converstaions in Nov. 1977, Srila Prabhupada himself clearly stated that he thought he was being poisoned, not once, but at least three times. He was asked who told him he was
poisoned, and he answered, “All these friends” and then “They all say.” Then when Tamal asked “Who said that…” – Srila Prabhupada answered, “I do not know, but it is said.” Here is the taped excerpt:
Kaviraja: Kaun bolta hai? (Who told that?)
Srila Prabhupada: Ye saab friends. (All these friends.)
Bhakticharu: Ke boleche Srila Prabhupada? (Who said that Srila Prabhupada?)
Srila Prabhupada: Ke boleche. (They all say.)
Tamal: Krishna das? (whispers)… (blowing conch)
Kaviraja: Aapko kaun poison dega? Aur kisleye dega? (Who would give you poison? And why?)
Tamal: Who said that, Srila Prabhupada?
Srila Prabhupada: I do not know, but it is said.
Devotee whispers: (indistinct) …it’s Poison.
So, who were “all these friends”? And who were “they”? All these friends means the plural and present persons, namely the caretakers who were with Srila Prabhupada. This is the logical understanding: that the “friends” were those persons who were right there, namely Srila Prabhupada’s caretakers. Bedridden and incapacitated, Srila Prabhupada hardly had the strength to raise an arm, and so he verbally pointed out those in his immediate presence as the ones who had said that he had been poisoned. Certainly, he was not referring to any visitors, who would come and go, and who could not be “these friends.”
Later Srila Prabhupada was directly asked by Tamal as to who had poisoned him, but Srila Prabhupada never answered, with a 13 second silence in the taped conversations. The conclusion is
that srila Prabhupada chose not to say who the poisoner or poisoners were, and he simply said they were the ones in the room. Who else could he have meant?
