Bhaktisiddhanta film footage - real or fake?

March 26, 2006

Srila Bhaktisiddanta footage: Faked or Real?

by Nrsimhananda das, Director Iskcon Television

Many devotees asked me in Mayapur whether the footage of Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta from the new video from Deva Vision, "Universal

Teacher" was manufactured or not. There was an adament accussation

against the producers on the Vaisnava website services a few weeks

ago. I decided to make a surprise visit to the headquarters of Deva

Vision at the Nrsimha Chaitanya Math near Mysore while I was in the

Bangalore area. I arrived to find my old friend now known as B.V.

Giri Swami welcoming me as I stumbled out of the vehicle like tumbled

wash. I had written 20 treatments with him for HH Bhakti Caru Swami

at the outset of the Abhay Caran series. I was happy to see him

again. I loved his mind then, and I found it even sharper now. "So

you're the forgery expert," I quiped. Thus began our discussions

about that now infamous film clip that plastered the web a while ago.

There are other younger disciples of HH Narasimha Maharaja working in

the media department there. I questioned them separately. I conversed

with HH Narasimha Maharaja and HH Visnu Maharaja for a number of

hours. I am fully satisfied that there has been no tomfoolery. The

clip is genuine as is their word and intentions. However, the idea

that persons should accuse others publicly of forgery more than a

Vaisnava aparadha, is in many courts of law, the basis of a libel

case. In Dryfuss's book, "J'Accuse," the idea of pointing the finger

at someone and thus inferring their inherent guilt is examined in

excrutiating detail. A reputation can easily be soiled by such

accussations. A person is innocent until proven guilty. I suggest

that websites not publish accussatory articles without doing their

do-diligence and corraborating the guilt by authoritative parties. I

know that some will still doubt my word on the subject. All I can say

is that I went to the editing loka of that video and did onsite

research. If they haven't done that, then they have no basis for

their evaluation except through speculation. Doubters, go visit the

ashram on the Kuveri river. You will be nicely received despite the

anticipated antagonism. You can question the issue there. As far as

I am concerned, the matter is closed. You can purchase the video from

ITV for $15 plus shipping ($5 USA, $11 overseas; itv (AT) charter (DOT) net)

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