Notorious Godman Chandra Swami’s Role in the Poisoning of Srila Prabhupada

How many people are aware of the role notorious criminal and godman Chandra Swami played in the poisoning of ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada in his final days?

Those who have lived in India in the 90’s will be familiar with Chandra Swami and the many scandals he was involved in, including the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. In addition he was well known as a weapons smuggler, a spy for the CIA, and was closely connected with Adnan Khashoggi (another CIA asset, who was famous for his involvement in the Iran Contra scandal of the 1980’s).

“Adnan Khashoggi was implicated in the Iran–Contra affair as a key middleman in the arms-for-hostages exchange along with Iranian arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar […] with Saudi and United States backing.”

The name Khashoggi will be familiar because Adnan Khashoggi’s nephew happens to be Jamal Khashoggi who was recently murdered by the Saudi Government in Turkey. Adnan Khashoggi also happens to be the uncle of Dodi Fayed who was killed along with Princess Dianna. Just see how all these people are intertwined.

An income-tax raid on Chandra Swami’s ashram uncovered original drafts of payments to Adnan Khashoggi of $11 million USD. Chandra Swami was caught illegally sending huge sums of money to the CIA asset behind the Iran Contra scandal, and he was also involved with funding the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, funding the LTTE, and also had close links to Khalistani terrorists in Punjab.

The Jain commission that investigated the Rajiv Gandhi assassination dedicated an entire volume to the involvement of Chandra Swami in the assassination. Throughout the 90’s Indian TV news was filled with reports of this man’s criminal activities and scandals.

So how is this person connected to Srila Prabhupada? This notorious criminal, Chandra Swami, who was involved in assassinating Rajiv gandhi, was involved in providing the Makharadvaja medicine Srila Prabhupada took in the last month of his life. Not only did he arrange for it, he provided it “free of cost”.

The ISKCON leader who was friends with Chandra Swami and was ISKCON’s link to Chandra Swami was Adi Keshava Swami. His father happened to be a known CIA agent. (Adi Keshava Swami also happens to be related to the Barclay’s bank family.) So the son of one CIA agent amazingly has this contact with this VIP Chandra Swami, who is also another known CIA asset, and Chandra Swami decides to arrange this special “medicine” completely “free of cost” for Srila Prabhupada.

Weeks later Srila Prabhupada leaves his body, and days before that he speaks about suspicion he is being poisoned. Further there are multiple whispers heard on recordings from those days with the words “poison” in them. The ISKCON leader who was the link to Chandra Swami (and who’s father was a CIA agent) disappears after and has nothing to do with ISKCON again.

One year before this Adi Keshava Swami also happens to take Chandra Swami to the US for a tour. The son of a CIA agent, brings some Indian swami (who also happens to be a CIA asset) to the US for a tour. ISKCON has never brought a “Swami” from another sampradaya (what to speak of a tantric swami) to the US for a world tour. The only time it has ever been done is when everyone involved had links to the CIA.

The following two conversations with Srila Prabhupada highlight the involvement of Chandra Swami in his final days.

Conversation on October 25th, 1977, speaking about Chandra Swami arranging the medicine for Srila Prabhupada:

Bhavānanda: Śrīla Prabhupāda? Śatadhanya Mahārāja has come.

Śatadhanya: I have brought the makara-dhvaja from the kavirāja in Delhi. This kavirāja, he’s not Rāmānuja-sampradāya, but many people say in Delhi that he’s the foremost kavirāja in India. He treats the Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, and all the ministers also. So many people trusted him, and he mixed this medicine… He was mixing it for some other person, but when he heard that you were ill, he gave it to us.

Bhavānanda: What kind of makara-dhvaja?

Śatadhanya: There’s different kinds of makara-dhvaja, six kinds. This is the most potent kind. This is called siddha makara-dhvaja. This contains gold and pearl and musk and mica and many other ingredients.

Bhavānanda: And what are the other ingredients you have to take it with?

Śatadhanya: You can take it with either honey or milk. But he recommended that for Prabhupāda’s particular condition he take it with honey.

Prabhupāda: That’s all right. What did he charge?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What did he charge?

Śatadhanya: Nothing. We got it for free because we got it through one influential man named Chandra Swami.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh, Chandra Swami. That’s that person Ādi-keśava was always working with.

Prabhupāda: That means he’s honest. That’s all.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You met Chandra Swami?

Śatadhanya: No, he’s in Madras. This is forty-eight doses, two doses a day. That means this is twenty-four days’ medicine makara-dhvaja. Two doses per day.

Prabhupāda: So do it carefully. Tamāla?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: You take care.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: All right. I’ll keep it locked up.

Prabhupāda: They charged nothing. Then he is honest.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Did he say what the charge would normally have been?

Śatadhanya: No. But he did say that what the other kavirājas said about dosage was very wrong, and that if that dose was taken it would have been detrimental.

Six days after receiving Chandra Swami’s Makaradhvaja medicine Prabhupada says it is poison:

Bhavānanda: He did agree with your own diagnosis, Prabhupāda. He said makaradhvaja at this point would be poison and today you said that it was poison.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Now let us look at Bhaktividya Purna Swami’s recollection of this:

“The next day however while Srila Prabhupada was looking at the color of the skin on his arms and noticing a blue tint, he stated, “poison”. Meaning that the ‘makaradhvaja’ instead of acting as hoped, was giving the side effect of poisoning.”

And here is Tamal Krishna Goswami’s recollection of this medicine given by Chandra Swami:

“Satadhanya had also arranged earlier for the makaradhvaja, which had proved poisonous.”

This medicine, arranged by Chandra Swami “free of cost” ended up turning Srila Prabhupada’s skin blue and he immediately said it was “poison”.

The following conversation, which occured in 1976, speaks about Adi Keshava Swami arranging a tour for Chandra Swami to come to the US, which Srila Prabhupada was not happy about:

Giriraja: And then Ādi-keśava Mahārāja is going with a swami? Chandra Swami, some Indian swami in America. He’s going with Ādi-keśava Mahārāja to meet the new President of the United States on January 27th.

Prabhupāda: He’s going to see?

Girirāja: Yes, Jimmy Carter. On January 20th he will become the next President. So Ādi-keśava Mahārāja and this one Indian sannyāsī, they are going to make a representation to the new President.

Prabhupāda: Who is that Indian swami?

Śrutaśrava: His name is Chandra Swami.

Prabhupāda: Chandra Swami? So why…?

Guest (4): He’s a young man.

Prabhupāda: He must be Māyāvādī. He’s taking advantage of this. He’s a Māyāvādī.

Guest (4): He’s a man who is following Tantric.

Prabhupāda: So what is this nonsense. This should not be… He should not accompany. He’s taking advantage of it.

Guest (4): He’s also directly associated with the Prime Minister, this young man. Chandra Swami.

So one of India’s most famous criminals, somone who was involved directly in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, someone who was notorious for smuggling weapons and other criminal activities, someone who was a known CIA asset and who had close links with other infamous CIA assets like Khashoggi, was also involved closely in providing “free medicine” to Srila Prabhupada in his last month alive.

In addition to this, there is a letter where Srila Prabhupada gives a warning about Chandra Swami:

‘This Candra Swami has said that “In America there is no one turning Christians into Hindus except for the Hare Krsna Movement.” That means his support is genuine, he’s appreciating. Yes, it is dangerous to associate with such men, you should always remember that. But to take our interest, if the help is coming from such persons, we should not lose it also. But you must be very careful.’ – Letter to: Ādi-kesava (26 December, 1976)

A few after thoughts, why would Tamal Krishna Goswami keep the medicine locked up in an almirah? I have never had the need to lock up a medicine, and I don’t know anyone else who has had a need to lock up a medicine:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I’ll keep it locked in the almirah, and I will give one dose at a time to Bhakti-caru.

Just think about this. After Srila Prabhupada left his body, everyone kept everything related to Srila Prabhupada, including individual shaving hairs that were stuck in his shaving blade, but no one kept the medicine he took.

They still have the half used vicks bottle he was using at the time. They still have all sorts of things he was using. But this special medicine, no one has it. It is highly suspicious.