Prahladanath das (ACBSP), Oct 26, Canada: “Yes, Srila Acaryadeva, we already reserved the presidential suite at the best five-star hotel for you to stay,” said Padambuja das, our Temple President, while talking to Hridayananda das, who was about to have his first visit to Bolivia. “And try to get police escort to take me to the hotel. The spiritual master is more important than the Pope,” he said unabashedly.
“This is going to cost us a lot!” –—Padambuja told me— “so we need to make a big marathon to collect the funds needed to comply with his request”.
We were all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Acaryadeva. Most of the devotees were young, newcomers, but have embraced Krishna Consciousness with so much eagerness and enthusiasm. Everybody was elated to have his association personally for the first time in Bolivia. After all, he was Srila Prabhupada’s successor and His Divine Grace himself had appointed him to preach and take care of South America.
“He has a transcendental brain,” we had been told. So we could not wait for his arrival.
All the devotees were at the airport to greet him with garlands, flower petals and ecstatic kirtana. After he checked immigration and customs, he came out. Then we made him board a most modern motorcar we had rented to take him to the hotel. Two policemen riding huge motorcycle escorted the improvised parade, wailing its sirens all the way.
When he arrived, Hridayananda said: “This is a nice hotel, very appropriate. But it really has a presidential suite?
We assured him it had.
We prepared and advertised nicely a grand evening program to be held in the largest convention center of the above-mentioned hotel, which could hold 500 people sitting in comfortable chairs. Prasadam was to be served by a crew of well-dressed barmen. They used elegant plates to serve prasadam as well as fine crystal glasses for the nectar. It was an impressive scene and everybody was happy.
He started his address talking in his decent but poor Spanish. However half way through the conference, he started getting irritated who knows why, and started to hammer again and again the point that the karmi society is very low and degenerated. He criticized heavily the members of the karmi society to the point of getting real nasty. It became clear that he could not see any good qualities in the people who composed his audience, and instead of showing respect for them—what to speak of compassion— who kindly have attended the program inspired by our propaganda, he just blasted them for being “fallen” and “low.” He also didn’t show any gratitude for his spiritual master who provided him with this wonderful preaching opportunity, nor did he exhibit any appreciation for the devotees who organized this costly, very important event.
The persons who attend the function, the majority of them well-to-do people from the higher ranks of society (lawyers, doctors, professionals in general), instead of hearing an uplifting message for rekindling their God consciousness, got an abusive fellow directly calling them all kinds of ill names. They felt very uncomfortable and disappointed.
During the question period, a lawyer got up and tried to submit a question. But Hridayananda made him shut up: “You have no right to speak because you are a meat-eater and an ignorant,” he said almost screaming.
One lady also received similar treatment. Then another gentleman who also presented himself as a lawyer raised his hand and said: “With all due respect, sir, we came to listen to a spiritual conference. …I think you have no right to treat a lady like in this manner.”
“Yes, I do have the right because I am a spiritual master and have come here to teach you, meat-eaters…”
At that point I felt so embarrassed, so humiliated, that I couldn’t take it no more. I just left the place and went up to the presidential suite and waited there.
My parents had come with my two sisters all the way from Oruro (400 kms. away) to greet the Maharaj. After he finished the conference, he was brought to the five-star hotel. But he continued in his fiery mood of criticizing and deriding everything and everybody. I felt very uncomfortable when he started yelling and fighting in front of my parents. It was the absolute contrast from what I had explained to them about Krishna consciousness. They liked the philosophy and got so far as to becoming vegetarians.
I was waiting up there and all of a sudden Hridayananda came in looking exhausted, and crashed in his bed saying aloud: “Oh, Krishna Krishna! What a place! What a country! This is sudra-loka, please give me mercy. I can’t take it anymore…”
Seeing and hearing this I became even more worried and did not know how to approach him to tell him that my parents had show up to say hello.
“Srila Acaryadeva, please excuse me for interrupting you, but my parents came from Oruro, the city where they live. They drive five hours just to be here and say hello to you. I told them so much about you…”
“Oh” —he replied— “do I need to do this? Tell them to wait in the other room…”
After about ten minutes he came from the bedroom and told them: “Nice to meet you. So you are the parents of Prahladanatha… Thank you for coming, but I am a little tired and I need to rest.”
My father replied: “We just wanted to say hello because I can see that my oldest son is very enthusiastic in following you. So I ask you to please take good care of him. Do not worry, we are leaving right now. Pleasure to meet you.”
They left. But my hunch became true. They got such a horrible impression from his first and only meeting with Hridayananda, that they lost whatever little interest in Krishna consciousness I had managed to infuse in their hearts. Both of them went back to their old habits, sadly, even went back to meat eating. They never said a word to me about his frustration. Although they respected my determination to remain a devotee, the exchange with Hridayananda changed their minds forever and for many years they did not want to talk about it.
Such an arrogance and disdain for other fellow human beings is seldom seen amongst human beings. It was obvious he was not happy although we were doing everything in our power to please him.
“This is Sudra America… I am surrounded by sudras ” was his favorite mantra that unfortunate visit.
He left Bolivia without leaving anything positive or constructive, but on the contrary, just a bitter taste in the lives of everyone who came in contact with him. And he never came back. He forgot about the disciples he had initiated and the ones who were seeking and waiting to be initiated by him.
Jayapataka Maharaj was appointed GBC for Bolivia a couple of years later, and has visited Bolivia on a regular basis ever since.
Did we receive any explanation at all about Hrdayananda’s decision to quit coming to Bolivia? Answer: NO
Did he apologize for the damage he did to our preaching efforts? Answer: NO
Did he ever show appreciation for the way we received him in Bolivia, agreeing to all his whims and conditions, or thank us in anyway? Answer: NO
We just did not hear from him again.
From every point of view he let us down. Up until now I had forgotten about it, but after reading Harinamananda’s “Open Letter“, I made up my mind to disclose this forgotten and sad incident of my life. Another reason that prompted me to write was the fact that a very and very dear devotee friend told me that Hridayananda visited Peru, and that there he “had a successful preaching.” He told me that he made everyone laugh and had a good time and that in a “very intelligent way” he spoke for an hour and a half, never pronouncing even once the name Krishna. Although by the order of Srila Prabhupada he was duty-bound to come to Peru and Bolivia on a regular basis, and take care of the devotees and the growing of the movement, he came back after so many years to preach his concocted, distorted version of the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. And all the time he “preached” wearing karmi clothes and baseball cap. He is so covered by maya he doesn’t realized that his so-called message is vacant of the Holy Name of Krishna. Wonderful philosophy!
I have kept this remembrance concealed within my heart, but this time I want to share it with everyone.
We all knew that Srila Prabhupada appointed him to take charge of Bolivia, but it seems for him this was a way too far low country for him to preach in.
Despite Hridayananda’s perception, the preaching went on and so many people became interested, initiated and became respected, fixed up devotees with the passing of time.
My personal opinion is that Srila Prabhupada would have been very disappointed with Hrdayananda. And not only him, but many thousands of well-meaning persons, like my father and mother.
Prahladanath das
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