Dr. Howard J. Resnick, or His Holiness Hridayananda das Goswami?
BY: RADHA KRISHNA DAS
Oct 21, MEXICO (SUN) — [Revised] Following are just a few of the many available pictures of Hridayananda das Goswami. In many of them you will see that he never wears a kanti mala. We recently posted a small collection of pictures taken on different occasions, that simply show his neck, without kantimala. A devotee here in Mexico told A devotee here in Mexico told me that during Hridayananda's recent visit, he once took his t-shirt off and it was evident that he wasn't wearing a kantimala or a sacread thread.
You will see another constant: his japamala is nowhere to be found. In some pictures we see the other devotees carrying their bead bags, but he never carries one. When he is at his house he is never with the japa beads either. He is talking to people, or playing an instrument, or eating, or whatever, but you never see him chanting or carrying a bead bag.
In almost all the pictures, you will see him dressed as karmi, even while some of the other devotees are dressed as Vaisnavas. If in other pictures you see other devotees also wearing karmi clothes, most likely it is because of his negative influence. He could always say, "Let's go for a walk, but with devotee dress." Even in his own home he is always dressed as a karmi, which would be unnecessary, except if he is into it.
Some pictures were taken at the university in Gainesville where he is teaching to undergraduate students. Srila Prabhupada said that a devotee could become a magistrate and go dressed with suit, tilak and sikha. Where are Hridayananda's at school?
In the picture above, he is cuddling up with a young lady in Brazil. There is no way to explain that from a sannyasi point of view. In the picture below, he is laying on a bed with two girls taking pictures of him. Is it okay for a sannyasi and guru to be laying in a bed and playing around while accompanied by two women in a room?
In the pictures at the top of this page, Hridayananda is at the side of Srila Prabhupada on his vyasasana, but still he is dressed in karmi clothes.
Hridayananda stated in his response that he had to go to the hospital. The fact is that he had diarrhea, and he went to the hospital for outpatient consultation, as this was easier than getting an appointment at a doctor's office. So it wasn't a medical emergency, like being in the ER, or checking into a hospital bed for days. A devotee told me that Hridayananda's condition began previous to his arrival in Mexico, most likely caused by stress and anxiety, that is what the doctor said.
On the Thursday before the scheduled initiations that he didn't attend to on Friday, he stayed up late playing on his keyboard. On Saturday he received a group of devotees in the evening. He stayed with them until 11:30 pm and looked perfectly normal. But on Friday he didn't show up for the initiation ceremonies, and on Saturday and Sunday he never showed up for the Rathayatra. Nobody here thinks that he was really that sick that he could not attend any program for three days. He wasn't bedridden, and indeed he was able to conduct many normal activities during these three days. Even the people attending him think that he just didn't want to go to the festival and found the perfect excuse for not going, due to his discomfort.
It's also interesting to note that on Wednesday, he gave a class at the temple. The curtains were closed, and in the middle of the class they were opened. He turn to the Deities and said: "Oh, here is the Boss", referring to Sri Sri Radha Madan Gopal. The audience had a timid laugh, but the devotees who related this story to me were very uncomfortable that he finds a way of making a joke out of everything, including the Deities.
