The poisoning of Srila Prabhupada is a very difficult pill to swallow. When someone hears the tape, it shocks their system. It normally takes devotees years to fully digest and accept this reality. So many questions come to mind.

– Why would anyone think of poisoning a great saintly person like Srila Prabhupada?
– Why did Krishna not intervene? How did Krishna allow this to happen?
– How can the Gurus whom we thought were the purest of souls, do something like this?
– Is this a personal vendetta and the evidence that is being presented has been manufactured for personal reasons?
– How can Srila be poisoned by the very people that He picked as his successors.

We hear you and fully sympathise with you.

These questions, and many more, are natural for any devotee who is faithful to Guru and the movement. This is because the foundation of the movement is surrender to Guru. Many devotees in fact have more surrender to Guru than even Lord Krishna because their Gurus are the accessible medium via which they can hope to serve the Lord eternally. Hence even the suggestion that Srila Prabhupada was poisoned is a very painful thought to entertain in one’s mind. To walk away from this subject and continue one’s Krishna Consciousness, as if nothing has happened, is the easiest thing to do.

But is this the right thing to do?

In fact, the very people who are involved in revealing this truth to the ISKCON community were also caught by complete surprise when the audio tapes were first discovered and heard properly in 1997. This is due to the fact that these devotees were not looking for malicious content from these tapes. Rather the devotees came across them accidently in the course of their research. They did not decide from day one that Srila Prabhupada was poisoned, rather they investigated the suggestion from Srila Prabhupada himself in those tapes, that he was poisoned.

For 25 years, work was done with professional institutions and individuals globally to simply answer this question – Was Srila Prabhupada really poisoned? Or are we all just letting our imaginations run wild? With each year more and more evidence came forward, pointing to malicious intent by certain individuals. These suggestions of malicious poisoning were not investigated once or twice but over and again to ensure that there was no ‘stone left unturned’. The committee wanted to make sure that we came to the right conclusion rather than be abrasive or presumptuous.

After all, suggesting that some of the most powerful people in the ISKCON movement poisoned Srila Prabhupada is a very heavy allegation both individually and institutionally and not one that any sane individual would make lightly. If we were wrong, it would make us feel
terrible and we would have committed a great Vaishnava Aparadha, with the stain of false accusation etched into our lives forever. If we were right, then the paradox is that we would look even worse, because the sinister nature of those who are still in power would make our lives hellish by turning their own followers against us. If they could poison the Acharya of ISKCON, then killing us would be a no-brainer. We still live in the knowledge that we could be attacked at any time, and frankly, this has already happened. Death threats, poisoning, and many others are beyond the scope of this brief.

Either way, we had to ensure that there was enough evidence for us to believe that Srila Prabhupada was poisoned and that this evidence would also convince others of the same, should they take the time to consider all the material presented.

Hundreds of devotees, many of whom held powerful positions in ISKCON, are actually familiar with this subject and agree that there is undeniable evidence of Srila Prabhupada being poisoned. Unfortunately, most of them are in a conundrum. If they speak out, the leaders of ISKCON will strip away everything – their positions, their means of income, their affiliation and most importantly their service. In other words, they stand to lose everything. This is the unfortunate position of many sympathisers to our cause. ISKCON is their life, their lifeline, their livelihood, their community, and some of their deepest and most cherished memories. To lose all of this in one go is the trump card that the malicious leaders hold up their sleeves. Hence we do have complete sympathy for devotees who wish not to be named or do not have the ability to stand up. They are a bit like Bhismadeva when Draupadi was being stripped, in that they know the truth but cannot stand by it, because their bellies are fed by that very Institution.

However, there are devotees that have the fortune of not being completely dependent on ISKCON and therefore can make a stance.

What should ISKCON devotees do?

When Srila Prabhupada once was giving class and quoting from the Bhagavad Gita, a person in the audience challenged Srila Prabhupada as to why he was quoting from the Bhagavad Gita, and openly said He did not blindly accept the authority of it. Srila Prabhupada replied and said, “Yes, you should not blindly accept the Bhagavad Gita but you should also not blindly reject the Bhagavad Gita.’

We ask devotees to do the same. You don’t need to believe a word we are saying, and we do not want this either. Rather we simply ask that each person who genuinely loves and appreciates Srila Prabhupada for what He has given us – Krishna Bhakti – to make a thorough investigation as to the sources of evidence presented by this committee of devotees. You may find that we are completely right, or you may find that we are completely wrong. Either way, at least you have tried to look at the situation objectively.

The idea that Srila Prabhupada was poisoned should not rattle the faith of devotees entirely who are mature and have understood our Vaishnava teachings. Pure devotees are always attacked in some way or another. Multiple attempted murders by Hiranyakashipu of his own son Prahalad, the beating of Haridas Thakur in twenty-two marketplaces, the killing of
Abhimanyu (Krishna’s own student) and in Srila Prabhupada’s own words in the tapes, the poisoning of his own Spiritual Master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta are all real parts of our history.

However, we appeal to devotees who are convinced like we are, to stand up and fight for the truth. Fight for Srila Prabhupada! Srila Prabhupada is living through his words and his instructions. Let us all understand his real instructions as to the organisation of this ISKCON movement and unite to follow this.

We simply wish that ISKCON is re-organised and set-up according to the final instructions of Srila Prabhupada given in July 1977.

If this can be done, then, with pride we can call ourselves followers of Srila Prabhupada.

Take your time, hear the tape again and again, read all the evidence we have put together in our book and if you are in agreement with us, then join us. The more devotees we have, the more power we have to make change.

All glory to Srila Prabhupada.

Hare Krishna