As disciples and followers of Srila Prabhupada, we accept him as our guide to become free from the illusory energy. If he says, “it is a rope, pick it up!” -when we have faith in him, even if our senses scream, “no, it is a snake,” we’ll still follow his instructions and pick it up.
Although many audio tapes from Srila Prabhupada’s last months are unexplainably missing, one tape contains a very disturbing conversation. Bedridden in his final days, Srila Prabhupada clearly says (in Bengali) “somebody says that someone has poisoned me. I think it is so.”
So, do we believe Srila Prabhupada? If he says that he thought he was being poisoned, should we think that the claim should be investigated further? The ISKCON leadership has refused to honestly investigate Srila Prabhupada's statement, even though their appointed investigator, Balavanta das, advised in 2000 that the matter needed further investigation than his funding allowed. And he suggested several areas that were still not investigated properly.
The GBC diplomatically stated that if new evidence came to light, they would investigate further. Well, guess what? New evidence subsequently came to light: forensic proof verified by many experts that Srila Prabhupada’s 1977 hair contained 250 times the normal amount of cadmium, a toxic heavy metal. And, this could only occur if it was a malicious poisoning. These levels far excees any normal exposure, or from working in a highly toxic environment. And the GBC has refused to even acknowledge the new data or conduct any further hair analyses.
Devotees should put pressure on ISKCON’s upper management to address this issue with transparency. The leading poison suspects were or are, devotees in Srila Prabhupada’s inner circle, the same ones who, very soon after Srila Prabhupada’s departure, claimed that they had been appointed as pure devotee zonal successor acharyas. Realistically, devotees everywhere should meet together, examine the evidence, and obligate their local leaders to confront the GBC on their ridiculous cover-ups of Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance pastimes.
In Nov. 1977, Srila Prabhupada said he thought he had been poisoned. His caretakers at the time all acknowledged he meant he was being homicidally poisoned. The taped conversations confirm this, and the caretakers did nothing to follow through. Why? Back then, there was no idea of bad medicine or that the poison issue was a false idea pushed by demented minds. Now, the hair tests and forensically confirmed poison whispers are in hand as well. These evidences back up Srila Prabhupada’s statements- so why do we not believe him?
