The Tamal Krishna Goswami Syndrome
BY: JAYA MADHAVA DAS (ACBSP)
Nov 28, 2011 — MOSCOW, RUSSIA (SUN) — After reading H.H. Bhakti Caru Swami's recent article wherein he is attempting to clear his name, saying in his defense "I did nothing wrong" on the Sampradaya Sun, I want to remind him and the readers of who he was so very close to, for many years – our Godbrother, Tamal Krishna Goswami.
May I also remind him that he was very influenced by Tamal Krisnha Goswami in many ways, and he did not speak out when Tamal Krishna, in his famous 1980's "accept me as your only-link-connection to Srila Prabhupada" presented himself to his Godbrothers/sisters as a Zonal Acarya in a heartless ego trip rampage. This was many years ago, but it is and fresh in the minds of many Prabhupada disciples.
Newer devotees don't know the truth about many areas of ISKCON history, such as how bad the Zonal Acarya setup was, how it ruined countless devotee's lives, broke up marriages, ignored devotees, and was the beginning of the deviations we see in ISKCON today. Also pioneered by Tamal Krishna Goswami were the Hinduized temples and New age preaching. Going back to college, to what Srila Prabhupada called 'The Slaughterhouse Civilization – Education', Tamal started all this compromising.
It's important to bring this all to light. Even though it's ISKCON History, it's still relevant today. This happened decades ago in the USA. Many devotees were hurt, mistreated, ignored and kicked out of ISKCON by this man's ego mania and heavy handed behavior. One of our Godbrothers, Gopijana Vallabha das (ACBSP) (later Swami) committed suicide under the weight of Tamal's heavy pressure on him, that you cannot approach Srila Prabhupada directly, only through me! To this day, this tragedy is seen by many Prabhupada disciples as directly or indirectly caused by Tamal Krishna Goswami's attitude and behavior.
The scandal happened in the St. Louis Temple, where the Radha Damodhara Party went after the bus traveling SKP (sankirtan) Party was disbanded. Tamal was the GBC for St. Louis, and what was left of his original Radha Damodhara party in St. Louis. Our humble Godbrother, Gopijana Vallabha Goswami had a history of mental illness. In ISKCON it was swept under the rug by the leaders, and Tamal walked away from it. Even though many Godbrothers suspect Tamal Krishna was somewhat responsible for Gopijana Vallabha's further depressions and suicide, that's a mostly unspoken fact.
Bhakta Caru Maharaja still promotes Tamal Krishna as an ISKCON hero, but the facts are that Tamal was a controversial figure – a law unto himself. He saw himself as SPECIAL, and this same arrogant mood has contaminated countless GBC/Guru Godbrothers, even to this very day. They have become hardhearted. I call it "The Tamal Krishna Syndrome" -- a Disease of PDF (Profit, Adoration and Distinction).
Tamal Krisnna was close to Srila Prabhupada and saw himself as MOST Qualified. For our readers, I will recall the infamous 1976 Mayapur Festival, when Tamal's Radha Damodara Party in the USA went temple to temple, trying to hijack the brahmacaris. I saw it at the Philly Temple, when they came in their bus and preached to us that we as brahmacaris MUST leave with them, or be in Maya and fall down to householder life. It was an attempted act of sedition to ISKCON's temples.
Outraged Temple Presidents went to Srila Prabhupada at the 1976 Mayapur Festival and
after hearing of what Tamal was allowing his men to do, Srila Prabhupada chastized Tamal KrishNa Goswami and sent him to Communist China (where (he didn't want to go). Contrary to popular legend, Tamal Krishna vigorously resisted going to China but
finally went, under Srila Prabhupada's order to him.
My own personal experience with Tamal Krishna Goswami was bizarre, to say the least. I have not told too many devotee this story. I was in India for a little over 5 years (1980-1985) when I was a brahmacari. My services in India ranged from working for the Bhaktivedanta Institute to mostly 4 years as an ashram teacher. (Mayapur and Vrindaban).
In 1985, I was a teacher in the Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula (one year). Somehow Tamal Krishna Goswami heard about me and about a dream I had about teaching children in Gurukula. He was about to lay the pressure on me big time. Tamal was funny, he could be sweet as heck with you if you were HIS man, or just dismiss you as irrelevant if you were not his yes man. He had a hot/cold nature and he was a control freak at heart.
Tamal Krishna, on the first try, did not get me surrendered to him and China! So he tried again the next day, one last time, in Srila Prabhupada's own room in Vrindaban! This time he was real heavy, no lunch, no real smiles -- hust Heavy Duty tactics. He called me for a meeting in Srila Prabhupada's room (near Prabhupada's bed), in front of Srila Prabhupada's Murti!!! no less… and guess who was with him? Bhakti Caru Swami.
So there I was in front of my Spiritual Master and two senior sannyasi Godbrothers. In between them was My eternal Spiritual Master, HDG Srila Prabhupada. Tamal used the occasion to tell me in front of Srila Prabhupada's Murti that "Srila Prabhupada wants you to go to China." This whole thing blew my mind! What's a brahmacari to do? Tell Tamal NO, in front of Srila Prabhupada! It was Unreal.
I guess Bhakti Caru Swami was there for support and reconfirmation that Srila Prabhupada wanted me to go to China, because Tamal Krishna Goswami "said so". I sat there humbly and took all this intimidation from both Swamis. I didn't argue with them at all, and in the end I stood my ground, and I didn't bend to the will and pressure of Tamal Krishna Goswami. I remained faithful to my service with the gurukula.
The next day, as I was going to the temple for greeting the Deities, Tamal Krishna passed me in the walkway between the guest house and the Krishna Balarama Temple. He gave me the dense cold shoulder and didn't look at me, but through me, as if I did not exist! Wow, I thought… this is an advanced GBC/Guru, and he can act like this?
I did not let him or Bhakti Caru Swami intimidate me or bully me in my Krsna conscious services. I did not believe Srila Prabhupada told him I was to go to China, in 1985, for gosh sakes.
That's my story. I'm sure there are hundreds of similar or worse stories about Tamal Krishna Goswami from devotees all over the world. Yet ISKCON promotes his sainthood... meanwhile, hundreds of devotees have left the society because of the "Tamal Krishna Goswami Syndrome" in ISKCON.
