My European Highlights With Hridayananda Goswami

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My European highlights with Hridayananda Goswami

by Chandrasekhara acharya dasa

Dear devotees,

After four months of myself and other devotees asking the European GBC to disclose

why they banned His Holiness Hridayananda Goswami from Europe after his three-month tour

last summer, two European GBC members unofficially disclosed to a few of us the five reasons

that justified, in their view, the banning of Hridayananda Goswami. In this paper, I will provide

evidence that disproves these five reasons. I will also describe eight highlights of my travels with

Hridayananda Maharaja for his entire European tour last summer, during which time I witnessed

the positive effect that he had on the ISKCON European yatra.

Before going further, I make two caveats:

1) Hridayananda Maharaja does not necessarily endorse this article. My thoughts herewith

are my own views, which I write as a GBC-loyal member of ISKCON who strives to be

“independently thoughtful.”

2) I am addressing the general ISKCON public because the GBC has showed little to no

interest to hear my testimony of my experience of traveling with Hridayananda Maharaja. Since

September, I have written to the concerned GBC members three times. Only one GBC member

showed interest in my testimony, but he was thereafter soon dismissed from the designated

committee. A fair jury has a solemn duty to gather all possible evidence for a given case in order

to construct a well-informed judgement. Otherwise the jury in question is not performing its

proper function. While my testimony is biased, it nonetheless constitutes a large piece of

evidence for constructing a clear picture of Hridayananda Goswami’s summer European tour.

Since the GBC is uninterested to hear my testimony, the general devotee public can do so1

herewith.

The Five Reasons

The president of the ISKCON Madrid temple, Janardana prabhu, told me that if the GBC permanently1

bans Hridayananda Goswami from ISKCON, he will resign from all his administrative services. He wrote

the following question on his Facebook page two months ago: “To how many temple presidents and to

how many leaders of ISKCON communities where Hridayananda Goswami travelled in Europe did the

GBC ask to provide them a testimony of their experience with Hridayananda Maharaja?” I empathize

with Janardana prabhu for the same reason that he complains about in this quote.



Three out of the five reasons for the GBC banning Hridayananda Goswami make

reference to a 2010 agreement that Hridayananda Goswami signed before his (2010) trip to

Europe. The GBCs’ now claim that Hridayananda Goswami broke this agreement during his last

2015 summer European tour. I maintain that this claim is false on the following grounds.

1) The first reason for the GBC banning Hridayananda Goswami is stated as follows:

“He [Hridayananda Goswami] did not follow the dress code for a sannyasi.”

The GBC is here referring to the first point of the 2010 agreement, in which

Hridayananda Goswami writes:

“I will follow normal ISKCON standards of dress, and other external behavior, when

participating in ISKCON programs [emphasis mine], either in person, or through any media such

as skype, video conferences etc. Western dress may be used for preaching to non-devotee

audiences, such as at universities etc.”

Note the words “ISKCON programs.” The fact is that Hridayananda Goswami followed

the dress code for a sannyasi throughout his European tour at all ISKCON programs. The

following photos, taken in ISKCON temples in Prabhupadadesh (Italy), Barcelona, Madrid, New

Vraja Mandala (Spain), New Mayapur (France), Radhadesh (Belgium), Vilnius, Copenhagen,

and Oslo, show Hridayananda Goswami wearing sannyasa dress.







In Prabhupadadesh (Italy), Hridayananda Goswami dressed as a sannyasi when he awarded the

order of sannyasa to his Brazilian disciple Yamunacharya Swami. The only places where he did

not wear sannyasa dress during ISKCON programs was at the preaching center in Madrid and at

one Sunday function at ISKCON Berlin. In both instances, the local temple presidents

specifically permitted (and even suggested) that Hridayananda Goswami speak while dressed inmodern clothes.

Here we must raise a question which the ISKCON sannyasa ministry has not yet

addressed: how many hours a day must a sannyasi wear sannyasa dress? Our scriptures speak of

“time, place and circumstance,” and Srila Prabhupada himself said that if required he would

dress in modern clothes. In the Catholic Church (which Srila Prabhupada instructed his2

followers to observe), an ordained priest dons his priestly dress occasionally, only for specific

functions. He dons more casual clothes during the rest of the day. What is the rule in ISKCON?

Because the GBC has not legislated a resolution on this point, the act of banning Hridayananda

Goswami on the basis that he did not wear sannyasa clothes all day long is discriminatory. The

bottom line is that Hridayananda Goswami, in accordance with the 2010 agreement, dressed in

sannyasa clothes during practically all the ISKCON functions that he attended. This first

aforementioned reason for banning him is therefore insufficient and unfair.3

2) The second reason for the GBC banning Hridayananda Goswami is stated as follows:

“He [Hridayananda Goswami] created controversies such as preaching about Krishna West and

criticizing ISKCON authorities in some places .”

The GBC is here referring to the second point of the 2010 agreement, in which HDG

states:

“I will sincerely endeavor to avoid unnecessary controversy in ISKCON.”

My observation of Hridayananda Goswami during his European tour is that he indeed

endeavored to avoid unnecessary controversy, such as speaking about Krishna West. The proof

lies in all his recorded lectures (which I recorded and which are online for the reader to confirm).

Ninety-five percent of these recordings deal exclusively with the theology and philosophy of

Srila Prabhupada’s books. But here the reader (and the GBC) must realize another equally

important fact: at ground level throughout Europe, an overwhelming number of devotees kept

asking Hridayananda Maharaja to speak about Krishna West. For example, the Barcelona

devotees had advertised a three-day seminar that Hridayananda Goswami was to conduct starting

“I am a sannyasi, but if some important work requires I dress myself just like a smart gentleman, I2

would immediately accept it. So it is not a problem.”

(Letter to Gopala Krishna Goswami, Hamburg 3 September, 1969).

Ironically, one can find images of at least one ISKCON GBC sannyasi on Google Images, dressed in3

shorts and teaching yoga to women inside an ISKCON temple room. The GBC has not banned this

sannyasi for this.



the next day after his arrival. The day when we got to Barcelona, I personally witnessed

Hridayananda Goswami asking Gundica prabhu (the temple president), “So, what am I supposed

to speak on for the seminar tomorrow?”

Gundica replied, “The three-day seminar is about Krishna West, Maharaja.”

Hridayananda Goswami said, “Are you joking?”Gundica replied, “No, Maharaja”, and showed him the ISKCON Barcelona website to confirm.

A constantly recurring pattern during Hridayananda Goswami’s European tour was that ISKCON

devotees themselves kept asking Hridayananda Goswami to speak about Krishna West. He

responded appropriately.

Yes, Hridayananda Goswami did occasionally criticize local management. But he did so

in private. This raises another question which the GBC has also not addressed officially, namely

the question of freedom of speech in ISKCON. To what extent can the GBC expurgate the

opinions of ISKCON intellectuals? One extreme is to adopt an unhealthy laissez-faire policy

whereby anyone can say anything. The other extreme, equally unhealthy, is to adopt a 1984

Orwellian “Big Brother is watching” policy where the GBC micro-analyses all devotees’ every

thoughts and movements. Let us not forget that our Vaishnava tradition sets a precedent for

freedom of speech. The Bhagavatam recounts the story of a citizen who publicly complained

about Yudhistira Maharaja’s alleged defective management because the citizen’s son had died

before him. The Mahabharata tells us of a citizen who openly criticized the king in the middle of

the town square. In both these cases the government authorities did not censor nor ban these

citizens. Should the GBC ban a senior sannyasi and spiritual master for answering queries about

preaching in the West and occasionally expressing criticism of local management (all the while

repeatedly acknowledging that the GBC is the legitimate authority structure of ISKCON)?

3) The third reason is stated as follows:

“He [Hridayananda Maharaja] wasn't submissive to the ISKCON authorities in Europe.

He

didn't follow their instructions.

For instance, he preached at Gaudiya Matha temples [emphasis

mine] in France against the wishes of the local GBCs.”

Here I make a few important points:

A) The GBC makes a huge general accusation (i.e., “”not submissive,” “didn’t follow the

authorities”) and yet provides only one example to substantiate their claim. Furthermore, the one

example that they provide is not accurate. Hridayananda Goswami visited only one Gaudiya

Matha temple and not, as the GBC falsely states, a plural number of Gaudiya Matha temples.

B) I was the one who proposed to Hridayananda Goswami that he visit the Gaudiya Matha in

Rouen (Normandy) because its leader, Yati Swami (ex Vrajasundara dasa, who joined ISKCON

when I did) pleaded that I invite Maharaja to visit his community. Had I not proposed this to

Hridayananda Goswami, he would not have thought of visiting there.



D) Srila Prabhupada gave a direct instruction to Hridayananda Goswami, thirty plus years ago, to

the effect that he should try to harmonize and ameliorate the relationship between ISKCON and

the Gaudiya Mathas. Was Hridayananda Goswami supposed to ignore Srila Prabhupada’s direct

instruction?

E) The French GBCs’ expressed their wish that Hridayananda Goswami not visit the RouenGaudiya Matha a mere two weeks before Hridayananda Goswami’s visit there. Hridayananda

Goswami had already committed to his visit at least two months earlier. The Rouen Gaudiya

Matha devotees had already been advertising his visit with posters and online advertisement for

at least one month. Was it reasonable for the GBC to give Hridayananda Goswami a two-week

notice and expect him to cancel his trip all of a sudden? What message would that have sent to

the Rouen Gaudiya Matha?

F) During his two-day visit to Rouen, Hridayananda Goswami repeatedly preached about Srila

Prabhupada’s unique and monumental historical importance. He insisted that Srila Prabhupada is

not just an ordinary “link” in the parampara and that he deserves a position least on the same

pedestal as Srila Bhaktisidhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Several devotees of the Rouen Gaudiya

Matha drove four hours the next weekend only to hear Hridayananda Goswami speak in Paris.

Those, like me, who travelled to Rouen with Hridayananda Goswami felt all the more grateful

and inspired, after the visit, to be members of Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON movement.

4. The fourth reason is stated as follows:

“He [Hridayananda Goswami] played sports (ping-pong) with a lady, which was broadcast on the

internet.”

The GBC is here referring to the fourth point of the 2010 agreement, in which HDG

writes:

“Obviously, a sannyasi should not play sports alone with women, embrace women, watch R-

rated movies, etc. Every ISKCON sannyasi, myself and all others, should avoid such behavior.”

The truth is as follows:

Aside from the fact that Lord Krishna speaks of temperate recreation in the Bhagavad-

Gita, Hridayananda Goswami played casual sports on three occasions during his entire ninety-

day trip: 1) three times with the devotee families who visited him in Asiago, Italy, 2) once in

Berlin, and 3) once in Vilnius. In Asiago, one afternoon, ten devotees, including five children,

played ping-pong together, taking turns in exchanging rallies with Hridayananda Goswami and

with one another. The alleged “lady”, Beatrice, is a married woman, a mother, whose two young

children and whose husband (Luigi) were present in that very room, along with all the rest of us.

The atmosphere could not have been more familial. Hridayananda Goswami exchanged a few

rallies with her, as he did with everyone else. One of her children told her father, who later told

me, “When I grow up, I want to take initiation from Hridayananda Goswami.” The description of

this event by the GBC, namely that “Hridayananda Goswami played sports with a lady” suggests



private and romantic association. But this description is a far cry from what actually happened,

as I have just described.

In Berlin, Hridayananda Goswami played casual soccer for a half-hour with a handful

of devotees and several children. After his visit, the eleven year-old daughter of Gaura Nataraja

prabhu (a senior disciple of Sacinandana Swami) told her father, who told me (verbatim),“Daddy, Hridayananda Goswami is the most friendly guru I have ever met. I can accept such a

guru.” How is the GBC justified in banning Hridayananda Goswami from Europe for

occasionally playing recreational sports to maintain his health and indirectly inspiring ISKCON

families and children?

5) The fifth and final reason is stated as follows:

“His [Hridayananda Goswami’s] preaching undermines the authority of Srila Prabhupada and the

previous acaryas. For instance, Hridayananda Goswami’s opinion that Draupadi was not

disrobed or that Yudhisthra Maharaja was a fallen soul.”

While I have heard Hridayananda Goswami say that Srila Madhvacharya states in one of

his books that the Mahabharata text is corrupt, and while I also have heard Hridayananda

Goswami question certain specific details of the Draupadi lila (as the Bhagavatam only mentions

that the Kauravas touched Draupadi’s hair), I have never heard Hridayananda Goswami claim

that Yudhisthira was a “fallen soul”, as the GBC claims he did. I highly doubt that Hridayananda

Goswami would ever say this. I have never heard him say so, and this brings us to the next point:

this discussion is irrelevant in the context of the GBC banning Hridayananda Goswami from

Europe. Why? Because I testify to the fact is that Hridayananda Goswami never spoke a single

time about these topics - privately or publicly - during his entire three-month tour last summer.

He spoke on Mahabharata once, in Asiago, but he did not raise these points at all during that

lecture. The GBC allegedly imposed their ban on Hridayananda Goswami solely and specifically

because of alleged “wrongs” that Hridayananda Goswami did last summer and last summer only.

We may ask why the GBC has the presumption to randomly use this argument to justify their ban

of Hridayananda Goswami when he addressed this hermeneutical issue zero times during his trip.

The act of sanctioning someone for a crime that he or she has not committed is unfair.

The five reasons why the GBC banned Hridayananda Goswami are thus inaccurate, unsubstantial

or irrelevant. If the GBC justifies its banning of Hridayananda Goswami based on these five

reasons alone, I believe that the GBC will have a difficult time convincing the general devotee

public of their analysis.



The Highlights

Based on my three-months’ experience traveling with Hridayananda Goswami, I am

convinced that he had a very positive influence on devotees throughout Europe. The following

personal anecdotes, I believe, illustrate this fact.

1) Throughout Europe, devotees expressed deep appreciation and gratitude towards

Hridayananda Goswami for visiting their respective communities. In Prabhupadadesh, the

devotees decorated the entrance of the property with balloons and festoons, waiting with a

kirtan party for his long-awaited arrival. While this practice is not unique, I mention it because

it illustrates the devotee enthusiasm and eagerness that I repeatedly witnessed everywhere

Hridayananda Goswami visited. Again and again senior local devotees told me that

Hridayananda Goswami’s visit was attracting large number of devotees, including devotees

who had become distant from ISKCON for many years. As I briefly mentioned at the

beginning of this paper, Hridayananda Goswami awarded sannyasa to His Holiness

Yamunacharya Swami (from Brasil) in Prabhupadadesh. This ceremony was one of the

highlights of Prabhupadadesh’s summer festivities, with many happy and smiling devotees

present for the occasion.

2) In Paris, after hearing Hridayananda Goswami speak at two home programs in the Latin

quarter and at a picnic at the Jardin du Luxembourg, Madhavendra Puri dasa, one of the most

senior ISKCON devotees in France, confided in me, “I think that the only person who can

save the French yatra is Hridayananda Goswami.”

3) In Radhadesh, one of the most senior devotees of the community (name withheld) told me,

after hearing two lectures by Hridayananda Goswami, “I had misconceptions about

Hridayananda Goswami. I did not realized his stature. Now I am convinced that he should

settle in Radhadesh and should become the leader of this community.”

The leaders of the Bhaktivedanta College (in Radhadesh), led by His Holiness Yadunandana

Swami, literally begged Hridayananda Goswami to become the headmaster of the college. I

know this because Hridayananda Goswami shared with me some of his non-confidential

correspondence with them for several months before his visit to Radhadesh.4

Speaking of the Bhaktivedanta College, I have noticed a general pattern: among devotees who possess4

some type of higher education, the large majority of them either appreciate or highly admire

Hridayananda Goswami. Conversely, the devotees who oppose Hridayananda Goswami in most cases do

not possess any higher education. Some exceptions to this pattern may exist, but I believe that this pattern

is overall quite accurate (and quite telling as well).



4) Bhakta K [name withheld], a young man from Belgium in his late twenties, had been aspiring

to take initiation from a certain ISKCON sannyasi guru for fifteen years (I know this because

him and I are friends since long back). He had been chanting this guru’s pranam mantra and had

a picture of him on his altar for all these years, but still hesitated to take the final step of

commitment to him. Bhakta K accompanied his Italian mother-in-law (who is a disciple ofHridayananda Goswami) to Asiago. One week after hearing from Hridayananda Goswami daily,

he changed his summer plans in order to accompany Hridayananda Goswami to Spain and

France. Two weeks later, in Madrid, I witnessed Bhakta K fall at Hridayananda Goswami’s feet,

tears streaming down from his eyes, begging Hridayananda Goswami to please accept him as a

disciple and as “an instrument of your transcendental intelligence.”

5) In New Vraja Mandala, a similar event took place. A French older gurukuli couple happened

to be traveling through the farm at the time, with their two little children. After hearing only two

of his classes, the lady in the couple (name withheld) told me, “I have finally found my spiritual

master.”

6) In Dijon, Hridayananda Goswami similarly inspired a gurukuli lady who had become

somewhat skeptical of ISKCON leaders. At the end of Hridayananda Goswami’s visit in her and

her husband’s home, I noticed how transformed she had become, smiling and bubbling with

renewed hope and enthusiasm.

5

7) In Vilnius, the devotees (who had invited Hridayananda Goswami for their Janmastami

festival) could not get enough of his association. They heard his every words with total attention

(and often with many laughs at his sense of humor), gathering around him like bees in the

hallway lounge long after his lecture on stage inside the rented theatre.

8) As I already mentioned, Hridayananda Goswami had positive influence on devotee children

throughout Europe. In Asiago and in Berlin, children told their parents that when they grow up

they want to take initiation from Hridayananda Goswami because “he is the coolest guru I have

ever seen.”

Overall, my impression is that Hridayananda Goswami mesmerized devotees throughout

Europe. He made them laugh, he made them ponder. He shared with them brilliant expositions

Regarding France, the fact is that aside from Janananda Goswami, practically no visiting sannyasi/5

preacher visits France. ISKCON France is weak by all measures. The GBCs’ for that country, Hridaya

Caitanya and Madhusevita prabhus, visit for a handful of days per year due to their busy schedule. During

his European tour, Hridayananda Goswami visited places in France where no preacher has gone for

decades, if ever. Examples: Toulouse, Nantes, Bretagne, Dijon and Paris intra-muros. To stop any

ISKCON preacher from visiting France at this historical period may be an unwise decision.



on the G! t " and on the Bh" gavatam. I hope that Lord Chaitanya will fix the current

misunderstanding so that Hridayananda Goswami may continue to contribute to the expansion of

Srila Prabhupada’s movement, to which Hridayananda Goswami has already contributed in

rarely matched fashion over the past four decades.

Chandrasekhara acharya dasaMayapur

December 29th, 2015

Srila Bhaktisidhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s disappearance day

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My European Highlights With Hridayananda Goswami