“The majority of the members of ISKCON do not believe that the events alleged by the poison theorists could possibly have occurred.”

— OFFICIAL STATEMENT
     Commenting on poison issue

September 6, 1999

Allegations that the Founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada, may have been poisoned in 1977 have surfaced over the last two years.

The majority of the members of ISKCON do not believe that the events alleged by the poison theorists could possibly have occurred.

Nonetheless, ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC) has taken these charges, however improbable, as serious. Therefore, an official investigation was launched under the direction of Mr. William Ogle (Balavanta dasa), an attorney based in the state of Florida. Mr. Ogle expects his report to be completed by March, 2000, the time of ISKCON’s annual international meetings in Mayapura, India.

While some are claiming that harm was done to Srila Prabhupada, others question the credibility of the poison advocates, and charge that “evidence” for the allegations was exaggerated, or perhaps even manufactured, by persons motivated by ill will against ISKCON.

Amid these various claims, the GBC believes it is important to wait for the facts to be compiled and the official report to be completed before any conclusions are reached. Only after the report is completed will it be appropriate to address specific allegations, or to discuss if additional steps need to be taken.

END OF STATEMENT.

© CHAKRA 08-Sep-1999

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