Hansadutta Swami

Early disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Hare Krishna Founder-Acharya

Hansadutta became an initiated disciple of Bhaktivedanta Swami in March 1967.

He assisted with the pioneering of the Hare Krishna movement, opening centers and preaching in Canada: Montreal and Vancouver; Europe: Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Russia; in USA: Boston, Berkeley; and in Asia: Turkey, Cairo, Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.

He was one of the leaders in publication (printing and distribution) of Bhaktivedanta Swami's books, particularly in European languages, heading up the sales of books in Germany and North Europe, and in 1974 was appointed by Bhaktivedanta Swami to serve as lifetime trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. He was also appointed as a member of ISKCON's Governing Body Commission, and took turns serving as Bhaktivedanta Swami's personal secretary. In 1976 Hansadutta took up the order of sannyasa.

While preaching in Sri Lanka in the year 1977, Hansadutta created a public sensation with his answer to a challenge by Dr. Abraham T. Kovoor, president of the Sri Lanka branch of the Rationalist Association, which exchange was published in the Colombo (Sri Lanka) Sunday Times. Bhaktivedanta Swami approved Hamsadutta's proposal that the exchange be included in the BBT publication titled "Life Comes from Life".

ISKCON Guru

In July 1977, Hansadutta was one of eleven disciples named by Bhaktivedanta Swami to act as ritvik representatives in the matter of initiating new disciples. Four months after the death of Bhaktivedanta Swami on November 14, 1977, it was announced that the eleven disciples had been designated as gurus, and as part of ISKCON's Zonal Acharya system, Hansadutta initiated disciples primarily within zones assigned to him, namely North America, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Philippines.

Expelled from ISKCON

In 1980, Hansadutta was arrested for possession of illegal weapons. On July 8, 1983, the Governing Body Commission of ISKCON passed a resolution demoting Hansadutta from sannyasa and taking away his responsibilities in ISKCON.

Rittvik representative of the Acharya

In 1993, Hansadutta published a collection of essays, letters and articles under the title Srila Prabhupada, His Movement and You, in which he presented arguments and evidence in support of continuation of the parampara (disciplic succession) as a "rittvik", or representative, of Bhaktivedanta Swami. At this time Hansadutta redirected all his former "disciples" to regard Bhaktivedanta Swami as their spiritual master, and began to initiate new disciples on behalf of Bhaktivedanta Swami, as "rittvik representative of the Acharya".

BBT courtcase

In 1997, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. and ISKCON of California, Inc. initiated legal action against Hansadutta, seeking court declaration that Bhaktivedanta Swami's Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (California, 1972) was not a legal entity and/or Hansadutta was not a legal trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. On November 13, 1998, Hansadutta agreed to a stipulated court settlement that effectively terminated any claims he might have had to being a trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust conditional upon receipt of an undisclosed cash settlement and license to publish the original, unrevised books of Bhaktivedanta Swami.

Current Status

In 2003, Hansadutta suffered a heart attack. He is living now in Cloverdale, California and continues to practice as a rittvik representative of Bhaktivedanta Swami.

Publications

Books: --

Papers, Compilations of Essays, Letters and Discussions: The following papers by Hansadutta address controversies in ISKCON, namely the rittvik controversy, Hansadutta's own alleged excommunication from ISKCON, and the influence of Narayan Maharaja of the Gaudiya Math on ISKCON members: --

Discography

Hansadutta recorded and produced a number of LPs and singles featuring Hare Krishna songs while in Germany, c. 1974, including the album "KRSNA Meditation" with vocals by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, which was recorded in a makeshift studio at Schloss Rettershof near Frankfurt, Germany. Later, in 1978 he produced an LP cover "Nothing to Lose But All To Gain". The LP cover "Nice but Dead" followed some time in 1981. The title seems to be a reference to the body, described as "nice but dead": according to Krishna teachings, notably Bhagavad Gita As It Is, only the soul is alive, while the body is at best "nice but dead". Production reportedly cost $35,000. The cover has been described as "a collection of guitar accompanied potshots at other gurus". In or around 1982, Hansadutta recorded and produced the LP cover "The Vision". The tracks are listed as:

These three covers generally fall into the category of country rock, funk, and folk and were of limited release.