© 1999 VNN
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EDITORIAL February 7, 2000 VNN5423 Comment on this story Adventures In Africa BY MAHAVEGAVATI DASI EDITORIAL, Feb 7 (VNN) — "Vyasapuja" Offering to Bhaktitirtha Swami - Part Two (See also Part One) My dear Srila Prabhupada, I pray to you for your continued mercy and protection over me as your spiritual daughter despite my lowly and fallen condition. It is ONLY due to your causeless mercy, your loving kindness and protection that I am still able to continue on with this process of Krsna consciousness. I pray that you will always give me shelter under your Lotus Feet. "Adventures in Africa" Situations from 1981 to 1986 are as follows: 1981: After I agreed to come to Africa, BTS told me to give $2,500 to one devotee to cover for my airfare to Ghana and on to India. BTS told me that this devotee left, took the laksmi, and that I would have to get up my airfare again. 1981: Before I left to go to Africa, I gave BTS $1000 to cover for my airfare to go on to India as he told me to do so. (He had told me when we first discussed my coming to Africa to render service there, that he "would have to send me to India EVERY SIX MONTHS, because Africa is so heavy." (I was very happy with that idea, and I really THOUGHT that BTS meant what he said. All of the ten years I served under BTS, he NEVER sent me to India, DESPITE his taking laksmi from me to pay for the tickets. This happened NOT once but SEVERAL TIMES, nor did BTS EVER return to me ANY of the laksmi that he took from me for those supposed tickets to India.) In 1981 I gave BTS the $1000 for my "future ticket" to India. Under his instruction, I purchased my ticket to go to Ghana. BTS sent me there alone. 1982: When BTS came to Ghana I had just received a letter from my lawyer in NYC. (I had filed a medical malpractice suit in mid 1979 due to a surgeon's accidentally breaking several of my ribs during thoracic surgery in 1978. My heart and lungs ended up getting punctured from the broken ribs, and this in turn caused permanent respiratory malfunction. Certain muscles were also sewn back improperly, and due to their pulling in the wrong direction, the spine was consistently being pulled out of whack, thus causing an ongoing crippling condition which would only get, and has gotten worse with time.) I requested that the hospital authorities give me a copy of my surgical report, to which they refused. Due to their refusal, I originally filed a suit to get a copy of that surgical report. When the suit was filed, the surgical report was found to be missing. The suit was a big one which involved a few million dollars. I informed BTS of this, and showed him the letter. I told him that I HAD to go back to NYC for my case. BTS told me, "Don't go back. Stay here and continue with your service." I told him WHY it was NECESSARY that I go back. I explained that I was already crippled and that I would simply become further crippled with time. I told BTS that I KNEW that ISKCON would NOT take care of a single crippled woman, and that they would kick me out of the temple when my body became too crippled up. I told BTS that if I got the laksmi I would give most of it to ISKCON, but I would also keep some of it so that in the future I would have some laksmi to use as "bargaining power." I explained that I could use that laksmi to pay rent to the temple authorities and then I would be allowed to remain in an ISKCON temple on that basis, and in that way I would be allowed to render whatever service I could render and would thus be able to live out the rest of my days living in the association of devotees. BTS then made THREE PROMISES, again telling me that I should forget about the suit and that I should just stay in Ghana and continue with my service. "You stay here and do your service. Don't worry about this suit. If you just stay here and do your service, I PROMISE you that you will never have to worry about these things." BT Swami made the following THREE PROMISES: 1) "I PROMISE that no matter how crippled you become I WILL SEE TO IT that you ALWAYS have a service that you can do irregardless of how crippled you become, 2) "No matter how crippled you become I PROMISE that I will SEE TO IT that you are ALWAYS situated within an ISKCON temple. I will PERSONALLY SEE TO IT. I PROMISE THIS," and, 3) "I PROMISE that no matter how crippled you become I WILL PERSONALLY PROTECT YOU." THESE were ALL Bhaktitirtha Swami's PROMISES to me in exchange for my staying in Ghana at that time and not going back to NYC to attend to my malpractice suit. I actually DID believe the first TWO promises. But as I had NEVER been "protected" in ISKCON, I did not take the last promise very seriously. BUT I DID BELIEVE THE FIRST TWO PROMISES, and I stayed in Ghana, and GAVE UP my suit. From the situation today, needless to say, BT Swami did NOT keep ANY of these PROMISES; INSTEAD, due to his OWN spiritual difficulties in Nigeria, and his OWN PARANOIA of my knowing, and his FEAR that I would tell someone, he FORCED me out of the movement and has continued in his FALSE assassination of my character. 1983 - Zambia: I had carried $1500 along with me from USA, specifically to be used for purchases for my Deities when I was to go to India. In Zambia I asked BTS if and when he was going to send me to India since he had not sent me as of yet, despite his having the laksmi I gave him for my ticket. I had already been in Africa for over a year and a half and I had also gone through an extremely hellish situation in Ghana where the TP was involved in some major deviations which I exposed to BTS. After seeing all of the proof I provided, BTS told the TP to leave. (The TP had been stealing exorbitant sums of laksmi from the temple, leaving the temple with practically nothing. He was using this laksmi to pay women for illicit sex. He was also sending very large amounts of laksmi to his nondevotee family.) In my endeavor to investigate, gather, and present all of the facts to BTS about the situation, I had literally almost gotten killed by the TP in the process. I ended up having to hide out in the home of one Christian Minister, Rev. Ampah, who I had been preaching Krsna consciousness to. (Rev. Ampah later took initiation.) I hid there until BT Swami came to Ghana. (Any devotee who has served in Africa for a long term period can understand these kinds of situations. BT Swami himself has had to flee from a temple, even from a country due to a particular situation and the way things sometimes go on in our temples there. Being in Africa as long as I had been there, I personally felt that most of these situations came about ONLY because of BT Maharaj's LACK in dealing honestly with the devotees. (When I went to Africa, due to BTS's dishonest way of doing things, I would be the one to suffer the heavy reactions resulting from his politics. BTS would instruct me to do something specific; he would then tell the devotees that he did not know why I was doing those things. His dishonest dealings and politics took on other forms as well.) I asked BTS about my going to India as was originally planned. I explained that I wanted to go because I wanted to purchase some paraphernalia for my Deities. BTS told me he would send me to India, "In a little while." He asked me, "How much laksmi have you been carrying around with you?" I told him, $1500. He then replied, "You're carrying that much laksmi with you in Africa? This is really dangerous. You should give it to me until you go to India. I'll keep it safe for you and when you go, I'll return it to you." I then gave BTS the $1500, and he NEVER returned it to me - EVER. (See CC Antya 4.88) 1983: The following incident is just an example of a bad management decision on BT Maharaja's part, but one that I had to pay some small price for: BT Swami was sending Ekendra prabhu and his wife Vraja lila out of Zambia so that they could get new visas. (They were unable to get an extension on their visas within the country because the immigration authorities there, upset with something they had done, would not extend their visas.) I was put in charge as temporary TP. One new devotee, Bhakta Frank, had just joined the temple and they wanted to give him the keys to the temple car. Due to my previous experiences in Africa I KNEW that this was NOT a good decision, and I voiced my disagreement. I told them and BT Swami that I did not trust Bhakta Frank, and that they should instead give the keys to me. They all disagreed with me and gave Bhakta Frank the keys. Then BTS, Ekendra prabhu and his wife left Zambia. Concerned about B Frank's having the keys, I would not go out on sankirtan as I had previously been doing. Sure enough, (as I had thought would happen), B Frank "disappeared." Three days he was gone, and those three days I made SURE to WATCH the temple car. After a few days, B Frank showed up with THREE other men - and wouldn't you know it? - they went RIGHT to the car. I left my "sitting place" and went out to the car to meet them. There they were, trying to open the door. I asked them, "What are you doing?" Their Answer: "We're 'Maranatha Christians,' and we're taking this car for Jesus. This car belongs to Jesus." I then answered, "This car belongs to Krsna. He is Jesus' Father, and the property of the Son belongs to the Father." They then repeated, "This car belongs to Jesus, and we are taking it." Crippled as I was, (and still am), I was NOT going to let them take Krsna's car, and a fight ensued, with me fighting against the three men. (For whatever reason, B Frank did not get into the fight; I suppose because he knew that I was a nice person.) In the process of fighting, I got stabbed in the knee and in the upper lip. Of course BTS did not know that this was going to happen, so in that sense, I can not, (and never have), held it against him. I am telling this story to give an example of one situation which I unnecessarily had to go through which came about due to a bad management decision on his part. There were other situations as well, also caused by BTS's bad management decisions, and I have never held anything against him in those regards. (Anyone can make a bad decision.) What I do feel BT Maharaj IS to be held accountable for, were those situations which were brought about DIRECTLY DUE to HIS OWN POLITICS. WHY am I giving this particular example, (and I will give some others as well), even though it happened only because of a mistake in BTS's judgement? Because despite my having served so faithfully under BTS for TEN years, going with all of the punches, (literally and figuratively), and sticking it all out; despite his knowing all of the hell I had to go through in so much of my service to him, (MOST of that hell due to HIS bad management, his politics and taking my laksmi, etc.); DESPITE all of the risks that I took as well the other COMPLETELY INSANE and dangerous situations that I was FORCED into, as well as my loyalty and surrender to BTS, along with all of the sacrifices involved; STILL, at the end, DUE TO BT Swami's OWN fear, selfishness and PARANOIA with regard to his own falldown, I was literally PUSHED out on the street, and I could NOT get admittance into an ISKCON temple. (As a leader, BTS surely must know the CC Antya lila verses; 4.46,47: "Glorious is that devotee who does not give up the shelter of his Lord, and glorious is that Lord who does not abandon His servant. If by chance a servant falls down and goes somewhere else, glorious is that master who captures him and brings him back by the hair.") I NEVER "went away"; I got FORCED OUT; BTS ANNIHILATED my character with his lies. Oh, incidentally, I WON the fight with those men, and Krsna did NOT lose HIS car. I am NOT even going to speak about the REALLY HEAVY things that have happened. WHY? Because 1) They are really heavy. 2) Because I don't know if the devotees would believe them, and 3) Because I know that my life is ALREADY in danger from BTS due to my writing this. I am FINALLY doing EXACTLY THAT which BTS told me NOT to do, (tell devotees what happened), and if I told the other REALLY heavy things, it would cause GREAT embarrassment, (and a lot of anger), to BTS and... (At times when I think about the whole situation, I honestly do NOT know HOW I went and MADE IT through it all. What I consider even MORE amazing, is the fact that Krsna has kept me as sane as I STILL am. (I guess THAT is the answer: Srila Prabhupada and Krsna; It is THEY Who carried me through it all, and THEY Who have kept me as sane as I still am. (BG 9.22.) 1984: From Zambia BT Swami sent me on to Nairobi Kenya. I had NO laksmi in my possession since BT Swami took it ALL from me in Zambia. It is possible he used it for my ticket to Kenya, but wherever it went, the laksmi was NEVER returned to me, EVER. While in Nairobi, I was severely attacked by five men the first day when I went out to do sankirtan. (This happened because the African people in the area HATED the devotees. Since I had JUST come, I did NOT know of the existing atmosphere. I just went out to do Harinam sankirtan, distribute some books, and I got attacked. I LATER found the reason why the African people hated us so much was because the Indian devotees living in the temple hated the African people, and COMPLETELY looked down upon them. There was even a guard at the temple who was specifically ordered to keep out ALL African people who might want to come in, and they were warned that they would be beaten if they tried to enter the temple. The Indian devotees would make all kinds of derogatory comments about the African people. Despite Srila Prabhupada's instructions with relation to preaching to the African people - to do prasadam and book distribution, etc. - these things were NOT being carried out. Thus, the local people out and out HATED us, so when I went out to distribute books, the people thought that I was of the same mentality as the other Indian devotees who were living there, and therefore they physically attacked me.) I sustained some broken fingers during the attack as well as head injuries, resulting in damage to the brain. The brain damage directly affected my vision, hearing and speech. (These were the the immediately NOTICEABLE things.) Other damage included dyslexia, aphasia, some short-term memory loss with regard to specific functions which involve short-term memory processing. (I did NOT completely lose my short-term memory processing.) I also experienced a loss of my processing abilities with regard to kinesthetics, spatial relationships, eye-hand coordination, physical balance, and there were some other losses with regard to other processing functions. I also had a complete language loss with regard to other second languages which I had fluently spoken: Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic. These languages were lost in total. I also sustained a major loss of my English vocabulary and pronunciation. Over the years of working with myself, I have since gained back one quarter of my previous vocabulary in English, but I still have a lot of difficulty in the fluency and pronunciation. I have to consciously think out MOST of my words, etc.) The TP, (Dina Dayal, an Indian businessman), REFUSED to send me to a doctor, saying, if I was sent to a doctor or to the hospital, a report would have to be filed with the police, and then the temple would be attacked. (This was what HE said; as to whether or not it was true - that the temple would be attacked if a report was filed - I don't know, but that is what he said. After coming to know Dina Dayal very well, I think the ONLY reason he did not send me to a doctor or to the hospital was because he did NOT want to spend the laksmi required in doing so.) Thus I could do NOTHING about ANY of the injuries I sustained since I myself had no laksmi because under Bhaktitirtha Swami's instruction, it had ALL been handed over to him in Zambia, as he said, "for 'safekeeping.'") When Bhaktitirtha Swami came a few weeks after I had been attacked, he could SEE that I was NOT able to speak properly. I told him that I had lost some of my visual and hearing functions and was experiencing some other processing deficits due to the attack. I also told him that several of my fingers had been broken. Despite that, Bhaktitirtha Swami ALSO, did NOT send me to a doctor. (It IS possible that maybe he did not realize that I SHOULD have been sent to a doctor, OR maybe he just did NOT want to "waste" Krsna's laksmi in addressing the matter. Whatever the reason, I was NOT sent to a doctor.) The injuries though were very severe and SHOULD have been IMMEDIATELY addressed, but they were not. (Even the fact that the head injuries were not immediately reported and documented has led to many problems in my trying to get them properly addressed now, and practically speaking, I can't get the proper attention and resources due to the fact that they were NOT reported and documented when they happened.) The brain injuries from that attack have resulted in numerous processing deficits that are present to this day. (And NO, DESPITE the OUT & OUT LIES that Bhaktitirtha Swami tells devotees, I am NOT "mentally imbalanced," "off the wall," "screwed up," "crazy," "insane," or the other terms that have been used to discredit my character.) 1984: BTS sent me to Mombassa from Nairobi and he came shortly after. He PROMISED me that he would send me to Mayapur for the 85 festival. BTS told me to give him my passport so I handed it over to him. It was a little after this particular visit of BT Swami to Kenya that I received a telephone call from one devotee, (Bala Gopal), who told me he had a Salagram Sila for me. He asked me what he should do to get the Sila to me since he was in NYC and I was in Kenya. I told him to give the Salagram to BTS to give to me the next time that BT Swami would see me. (I am mentioning this for reasons which will be apparent later.) After BTS took my passport, I was then left in Kenya for over one year with NO passport, (and of course, with NO updated visa.) Eventually immigration caught up with me. Not wanting to go to jail, I lied to the immigration official, told him that my passport was in Nairobi and that I had to go and get it. I then ran away and hid out in the woods in Likoni to "protect" myself from the immigration authorities. I stayed there for around three weeks although I would leave my "bhajan kutir" every other day to send letters to BTS. I would ask him to please send me some laksmi so that I could get a passport and a visa, or that he should do SOMETHING to get me out of Kenya. (There was one Indian mataji who I preached to while in the temple. I would go to her house to get paper from her to write the letters. She also allowed me to use her mail box address so that I could receive BTS's replies.) I made it VERY CLEAR to BTS the dangerous immigration situation I was in and I told him that I was living in the woods, etc. (Might as well "tell it all." The TP in Mombassa was actually wanted for some crimes he committed in the US. He fled the US and moved into an ISKCON temple to hide out. He was made TP. While in Mombassa, his bad habits got the better of him and he started a big scam in the temple for making A LOT of laksmi for himself. Krsna, it seems, decided to use me as an instrument to find it all out, (and to get all of the proof). I wrote to BT Swami about what was going on, but BTS never got those letters. Instead, the TP without my knowledge, was opening and reading my letters. (Back in those days devotees would just give their letters to the TP and he was SUPPOSED to mail them, but in this case...) Finally one day the TP ANGRILY exploded at me: "I know all about your letters to BT Swami..." He called the immigration authorities on me and told them that I was illegally staying in the country. The immigration authorities came and I left the temple to go and hide out. (Africa was really fun, wasn't it? With a life like that, one is always kept praying to Guru and Krsna. Hey, what better things for a neophyte devotee to do than that? It sure beats TV.) When I first left, I was hiding near to one village. Krsna arranged that I met Enoch, one African boy who had previously lived in the temple some years before. He told me that the TP had "hired" him to perform some rituals to protect him, (the TP), from getting caught for his illegal activities performed in US. (When one hires a "magician," as the practitioner of this art is called, the client has to tell the magician ALL of the details of the case so that the magician knows exactly what kind of "magic" to invoke.) I know this may sound crazy to some of you reading this post, but we are talking about Africa, and these kinds of things DO go on there. (Remember Srila Prabhupada's statements in "Krsna Book" in the Putana section about "khecari?" Srila Prabhupada explains that this "black art is still practiced today in the northwestern part of India," and that these women "use the branches of uprooted trees to transfer themselves from one place to another." So don't pooh-pooh this or write it off. Even in the Vedas we see there are examples of things which go beyond our experience - Banasura, (with one thousand arms), was NOT a myth; nor was Agasura - so don't just write this off as being, well... "NUTS." In the course of the TP's telling this boy all of the facts, he explained that he was actually wanted by the FBI and there was an international warrent out on him. (Sounds crazy, but it IS true.) When I found all of this out, I wrote to BT Swami and informed him of everything. BTS told me that Gopal Krsna Maharaj was coming to Kenya within a week. BTS said that I should go BACK to the temple to tell GK Maharaj everything. I was convinced, (knowing GKM as I do), that there was NO point in my doing that, but because it was my instruction, I did as I was told. I went to GKM and told him that BTS had instructed me to go to see him and inform him of what I knew. I told him about how so much laksmi was being stolen. I also told GKM about the TP's having an FBI international warrent out for his arrest. GKM asked me, "Do you have proof of all of this?" I said, "Yes I do. I have it all right here." (Sure enough, as I had known, I got NOWHERE.) GKM just loudly screamed at me. "Get out of here. Get out of this temple. Get out of here right now!!!" (And we talk about protecting women. There I was, a single White woman in an African country, and GKM was telling me to leave the temple and get out on the street.) I simply laughed and told GKM that I had already left the temple, and that I was already "out of here," and on the street. I explained that the ONLY reason I had come back to speak to him was because BTS had instructed me to do so. I told GKM that I KNEW I was simply going to end up wasting my time in trying to speak with him, that I KNEW that he, (GKM), was not going to give any credit to what was being said DESPITE my having proof. I left after speaking to GKM. GKM then left later that night to catch a plane to Toronto. AMAZINGLY ENOUGH, the NEXT morning, (I know, because one of the devotees told me later), the Kenya police came to the temple with an international warrent to serve to the TP. The TP bribed the police and saved himself from getting arrested. (BTS informed authorities in the USA about the TP, and the FBI in turn contacted the police in Kenya. For those of you who want to know the end to this part of the story: Some time later, when the statute of limitations, (seven years), was up, the TP left Mombassa. He then returned to USA, a free man.) After some time of hiding out, I decided to go on a fast. I thought that might force someone "up there" to help me. I took only three glasses of water a day. I also wrote to BT Swami, telling him that I was going to fast until I got out of Kenya. (I had ALREADY been through SO MUCH HELL since I had been in Africa, and this situation CERTAINLY did NOT help me one bit. Of course Krsna conscious wise, I suppose it DID "help" me in that it DID keep me - situation being what it was - ALWAYS PRAYING to Srila Prabhupada and to Krsna, so in that sense I suppose it "helped" me to regularly be thinking of Guru and Krsna. But I have to admit, I was quite FRAZZLED to say the least.) One night, at around 11:00 pm, one carniverous canine animal was looking around for food - this particular species eats human beings - and I was sitting there in FROZEN, COMPLETE, STONELIKE FEAR, chanting Hare Krsna SILENTLY on my beads HOPING that this canine would NOT come to eat me. After that incident, I decided to leave the woods to go to stay elsewhere. Godfrey, one African man who I had preached to when I was living in the temple, lived in the Muslim slum area off of Digo Street. Aware of my situation, he had invited me to come and stay with him. Originally I had not accepted his offer, since obviously it was NOT proper for a single female devotee to go to live so closely with a man in a single room. Anyway, time and circumstance prevailed, so shortly after that canine incident, I left the woods, took up the offer, and moved in with Godfrey. (I had NO other choice. No, I did NOT fall down DESPITE the ODDITY of the situation, but I DID sustain a number of physical attacks - one in particular, a VERY close call.) This following story is another example of something which also happened due to my NOT having my passport, updated visa, and laksmi, since I was FORCED to hide out where I could find a place due to such a nasty immigration situation: One evening a gang of approximately 15 young Muslim hoods, between the ages of 18 and 23, some of them carrying sticks and knives, came running after me from the alley off of the "courtyard" from which I lived. SCARED - I am DEFINITELY NO Bhismadev - I RAN into the "courtyard" area of the compound where I was staying, (courtyard meaning a VERY SMALL open area where there was a little space for cooking. In the back, there was a closed-off area with ONE toilet and small place to bathe for ALL of the residents of the compound to use. All of doors to the rooms opened on to the courtyard. That courtyard was like a place out of the hellish planets. No need to say anymore.) When I reached the door to the compound, I ran in and TRIED to close it, but the men were pushing their way into the compound. SOMEHOW, (I think ONLY by Srila Prabhupada's and Krsna's mercy), I got in a few good punches and pushes and I managed to push the door closed. (It was one of those times that I was GLAD that I was fat because besides KRSNA'S help, I'm CONVINCED that my weight played a BIG part in enabling me to lean against that door to keep it shut and keep the attackers out.) I FINALLY BOLTED the door shut, and completely FRIED and mentally exhausted with the WHOLE situation, I was left shaking from the trauma. (My heart and lungs were not doing their best either.) I have to admit, I sat down afterwards and CRIED for a LONG time. All that I could think of was that I WISHED I could SOMEHOW or other GET OUT OF the situation I was in. Finally, after one other heavy and frightening incident, I just turned myself into the immigration authorities. I figured it was better to just turn myself in and get sent to jail, get raped, (probably to death), get it over with, and just be FINISHED and done with ALL of the anxiety. (Just to make things clear: I was NOT desirous of a "suicidal" end; going to jail, getting raped and killed and having this be my end. I just figured that it was eventually going to happen anyway, so I might as well get it over and done with now, rather than have to sit in anxiety "waiting" for the "inevitable" to happen.) All along I kept writing to Bhaktitirtha Swami keeping him informed of the situation. And of course I could do NOTHING to change it. I had NO laksmi even to get myself a passport and visa. (BTS had taken all of my laksmi in Zambia and he took my passport in Kenya.) Thus, hiding out as I was, and in such a dangerous and INSANE situation, with Immigration on one side and some pretty hostile Muslims on the other, I was MOST DEFINITELY in A LOT of anxiety, and VERY DESPARATE to get out. (WHAT'S a nice young lady doing in such a situation like this??? This statement is SUPPOSED to get a few laughs. I was NOT laughing at the time.) What to do? Well, besides living in the Muslim Slums, I would go to a Jain temple every morning to take bath and chant my rounds. (I was totally convinced that if I used the bath and toilet in that compound, I would pick up Krsna-only-knows-WHAT kind of disease - and no, I am not one of those squirmish type of people either. This place was HELL.) Then I would go out and do Harinam. With whatever little donations I got, I would put them towards purchasing candy, which I would offer to Krsna. I would then distribute the candy as prasadam. (Oh, the glories of Harinam sankirtan. Even in that situation, I would just go out and do Harinam and distribute that candy prasadam. I am convinced it was that Harinam sankirtan, (besides praying to Srila Prabhupada and Krsna and chanting my rounds, that kept me SANE in such a situation. I was FASTING and HIDING OUT for ALMOST THREE MONTHS - Two and one-half to be exact.) I sent one letter to BTS telling him that if he did not come to Kenya by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's 1986 appearance day, I "would stop taking even water, and if I die, my death will be on your head." Maybe that sounds like a heavy letter to write to one's GBC, but I was in a HEAVY situation. And I DID MEAN what I said in my letter; I WAS planning to start fasting from the water as well, IF BTS did NOT come by that date. I just did not know what else to do; I was DESPARATE to get out of the situation. When BTS finally did come, he told me he "was getting some very heavy reactions" from my fasting but he would NOT tell me WHAT they were. After one other very close call involving Muslims, I FINALLY went and just turned myself into immigration. By this time one Indian gentleman had helped me to get a passport, but I was not able to get a visa due to my illegal immigration situation. When I went into the office to speak to the immigration officer, he (being even bigger in size than me), started YELLING at me, NOT even for the immigration violation, but because I was "a Hare Krsna." He told me how much he hated Hare Krsnas and gave his reasons why, describing how much we Hare Krsnas HATED the African people. Then he went into a tirade blaspheming Srila Prabhupada. He spouted off so many MISconceptions about Srila Prabhupada, and I TRIED to interject. He yelled that Srila Prabhupada "is one of those Indians who hates Africans... and..." I again tried to break in but he continued on. He then threatened me telling me, "I am going to send you to jail...," and again went back into his tirade against Srila Prabhupada. Because I was very angry, (and got FED UP), hearing him blaspheming Srila Prabhupada I finally broke in and started answering back the immigration official, "First of all, if you want to send me to jail, then do it. Just do it. I have NO problem with that. I have broken your law. But if you want to talk about Krsna consciousness and my spiritual master, then that is another thing," and then I - as the old expression goes - WENT AT IT, FULL FORCE. I started explaining to him EXACTLY what was the Krsna conscious philosophy. I also explained to him that our Indian so-called devotees were NOT proper devotees. I then went on to go over and clear up with him ALL of his various MISconceptions, with him periodically interjecting questions and my answering them. (Initially I had become THAT ANGRY because of his blaspheming Srila Prabhupada, but I was also VERY disturbed that the Indian devotees in Kenya had acted in such a way to CAUSE these misconceptions and to make the African people there HATE us so much. I think I was also very fed up due to my being in the situation that I had been put into and left in.) After preaching to this man, I then added on at the end that I had NO control over the fact that I previously had had no passport and visa. I explained that I was simply a victim of circumstance, had no control over the matter, that he should just put me in jail, since I had broken the law, and leave it all at that. I also added that I was ALREADY too fried out to have to argue any more about anything. (I think the man was very amazed. His WHOLE mood had changed, and when I got my last words out, it was obvious that he did NOT want to have to put me in jail.) As explained above, a little while before I turned myself into immigration, I had made contact with one Indian man who helped me with my passport. He was also trying to help with getting me a visa. I did NOT know it, but the man working on TRYING to get me a visa was doing it illegally. When questioned by the immigration official, I was asked me to repeat my story FIVE times altogether. (I guess he wanted to see if I was telling him the truth.) He finally told me, "OK, you go back to your temple now and come back at 3:30 pm when the siesta is over." (In Kenya they have an afternoon break from 12:30 till around 3:30-4:00pm. Everything closes and them resumes.) I told the immigration official, "I'm not going anywhere because I can't walk, so you will just have to make some arrangement for me to sit somewhere here until you decide what you want to do with me." Incredulously looking at me, he took me into one room and told me to wait there. So I just chanted japa. When he came back, he called me into his room again and made a telephone call to the Indian man whose name I had given to him, (again, my NOT knowing that this man was trying to help me illegally). He had the man come down to his office, where he again questioned me privately, then the Indian man, then me, and then the Indian man. From that questioning, he understood what the Indian man was doing. Sitting us both together with him, he said, "So, you are illegally in the country and he has illegally tried to help you get a visa; therefore you both should go to jail." Surprised, I looked at the Indian man and then at the immigration official and said, "Don't put him in jail. He was just trying to help me. It's not his fault. Why put him in jail? It's my fault, so you should put me in jail." Rattling on, I said, "I didn't know that he was trying to help me illegally, but it is not his fault. He was only trying to help me. So I'll go to j..," and as I STARTED to say "jail" the immigration official in a SUPER loud voice that STARTLED me, told me, "SHUTUP!!!" I even started to say, "But..." but I QUICKLY SHUT my mouth, REALIZING that KRSNA was TRYING to HELP me, that it was HE, Krsna Who was the One telling me to "shut up." The immigration official continued, "So now you are illegally here and he has illegally tried to help you. Therefore we have to do something about this." He then turned to the Indian man, who was really worried, "So, I think I have the solution. You don't want to go to jail do you?" The Indian man answered "No." Continuing on, the immigration official said, "Well, she needs a visa to be here legally and she doesn't have any money to get one, so to keep you BOTH out of jail, you will have to pay for her visa." (That also included the bribe that would keep us both out of jail. It was $500 for both, which I PROMISED to return to the man, (as well as the laksmi he put out for my passport), as soon as I was able to. When I finally got back to the US, I sent the man the laksmi, since BTS would NOT give me that laksmi.) Shortly after I FINALLY got my visa, you know who - yes, Bhaktitirtha Swami - finally came. (Isn't it amazing how Krsna works. WHAT a "sense of humor". It's enough to drive a person...) I would like to explain here that at some point during our correspondence (while I was out in hiding) BTS had WRITEN me a PROMISE CONFIRMING an EARLIER conversation that I had with him over the telephone. He PROMISED that he was GOING TO SEND ME TO INDIA FOR THE 1986 Mayapur 500 year anniversary festival. When BTS came, I went back to the temple to meet him there. After some talk BTS told me, "I think I will be sending you to New Vrndavan." I thought I was hearing wrong. "New Vrndavan? NEW VRNDAVAN? What about the 1986 Mayapur festival? What about your promise?" I gave BTS the written paper on which was written HIS words, "And we will hold to our promise concerning the 1986 Mayapur festival." BTS answered, "Oh no, you wouldn't want to go there. There is too much politics in the movement." Practically on my "last legs" from all the trauma that had I had been through, I could barely even open my mouth to "fight" him, but I DID try. "New Vrndavan? HOW could you send me there? You KNOW how Srila Bhaktipada is with me." (At that time Kirtanananda was called "Srila Bhaktipada" and BTS had SEEN in USA HOW Kirtanananda HATED my guts, and he had even commented to that fact, while in USA - reason for this being that for so long Kirtanananda had tried to get me to leave the Buffalo temple to go to NV, but I would NOT go since I had already experienced so much of his cruelty.) BTS INSISTED that I should go to New Vrndavan despite my protests, saying, "Right now, NV is the ONLY place in the movement that I would send any devotee to." I was incredulous, but I was also so "spent out" from everything else, that I could just NOT fight anymore. (After I returned to USA, I ALMOST BLOOPED, for faced with the two choices I felt that BLOOPING was almost a better choice of the two. I did not bloop though; somehow, I convinced myself that Srila Prabhupada would NOT want me to do that.) As explained earlier, at one point I had received a telephone call from one devotee, Bala Gopal prabhu, who told me he had a Salagram for me. At that time I told Bala Gopal to give the Sila to Bhaktitirtha Swami to give to me when BTS came to Kenya. After BTS's telling me where it was that he was going to send me, I then asked BT Swami if Bala Gopal had given him a Salagram to give to me. Stuttering, BTS was not able to give me a straight answer. I questioned him again, "Well, did he give you a Sila for me or not? He told me over the telephone that he was going to give you a Salagram for me. Do you have the Sila?" BTS FINALLY managed to get out, "Weeelll, I gave that Sila to X," and I became upset. "How could you do that? Why did you give Him away? Didn't Bala Gopal tell you about the dream of the priest who gave him the Sila for me? You get Him back!!!" (There is a story behind the priest's giving the Sila to Bala Gopal for me. If you want to know it, you can email me at mvvd@yahoo.com.) I also knew X prabhu, and I knew that he was not a strict devotee. He had already asked me to give him a Salagram, and I had said no, feeling that it would not be good for him to take a Sila. When I returned to the USA, I found out that TWO OTHER Silas had been given to BTS for me and that he had ALSO given THEM away. This last Salagram WAS returned to me after BTS went to the temple where X prabhu had ALREADY put the Salagram in a box and told BTS that he did NOT want to worship Him due to the reactions that he was getting from worshipping the Sila. (So Krsna HIMSELF arranged to come back to the person, (me), to whom HE had already arranged to come to.) I also found out from some devotees that they had GIVEN BTS, (IN HIS HAND), some letters and packages for me, which he also NEVER gave to me. I asked BTS about the letters, packages, and the two OTHER Silas. Although BTS did not "know anything about the letters and packages," after some hemming and hawing, he DID admit to his having given Those Silas away. End of Part TWO: (To be continued.) See also Part One About the Author  Other Stories by this AuthorComment on this story Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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