Letters from India - Part 2

58. Still Not Settled - June 1993

Still Not Settled

June 14, 1993

Prasanthi Nilayam

Dear Parents,

Divya conveys her namaskars. I hope you are all well there. Here, things are still not settled. It’s been a week now and Swami continues to live in the Poornachandra auditorium. We sit in the compound for Darshan and He comes and gives normal Darshan – except He smiles a lot, which I think is to give the devotees some peace of mind.

Also there is bhajan in the Mandir as usual, which Swami comes for. Many people do not come in the Mandir anymore, so there is place for all of our permanent resident lines. I sit inside every day. It is a nice Darshan where one can see Swami for 10 or 20 minutes (depending on how long He sits). Many people sit outside because Swami has to walk from the Poornachandra then back again: more Darshan.

Amma (Venkamma) is still very upset. She has not come outside at all, not to the Mandir and not to sit with the relatives awaiting the return of the food carriers.

In the Mandir, it is disturbing to see gunshots through the chest of Swami’s photo, the one above the main alter. It must’ve come from the police killing a culprit upstairs (coming through to the photo). Everything happened on the side-rooms, nothing in the main bhajan hall.

Swami has said twice that He will not go in the interview room again. “Radha’s (driver Radhakrishna’s) blood is there – I won’t go in,” He has told individuals. This means, then, that He will not move into the Mandir again.

There has been only one interview since “It” happened – Swami called two large American groups (who had recently visited Russia) and gave the interview in the main bhajan hall.

It looks like it may not have been an attempt on Swami’s life – but jealousy on His driver Radhakrishna. The postmortem showed 14 stab wounds inflicted by the gruesome machete and knives the four intruders carried. Not just stabbed the poor driver – but twisted and turned the knives into his body and sawed his throat over and over – uck! And such a thing to be done in the interview room!

It seems that the intruders came to the Mandir door (at 9:30 PM at night) and called out, “Telegram,” so Radhakrishna opened it; there were also three others who were sleeping in the interview room. The kitchen help (Vishnu Bhatt) is still in the hospital with extensive head injuries – but he is recovering fast, talking and moving about. The other I am not sure of, he is in more serious condition I think. One boy was killed but his wounds were nothing like Radhakrishna’s.

Since then, hundreds of police are all over the ashram, checking people and guarding the premises. Our bags are searched when we go to Darshan. All ashram rooms and the entire village of Puttaparthi was searched by police, but the only things that were found was in the Vocational Training Institute (a shed in the ashram), whose manager (a resident since 20 years in Prasanthi Nilayam) is still at large, for planning the whole thing. The Manager’s brother was one of the four murderers who were killed by the police in the Mandir.

In the search of that shed, 1 kg of cyanide was found along with huge evil-looking specially-made knifes, and even German-made bombs!! In the Canteen was found a large container of poison – maybe they had planned to poison Canteen food!

The Intelligence Agency (CBI?) who solved the Rajiv Gandhi murder case, have moved into the Round Building #3 and are carrying on investigations.

On the whole, we are still shocked by the whole thing – naturally so! So many reminders are here: like Swami living in the Poornachandra, not going into His Mandir rooms and not giving interviews, the police with big guns stalking about, the searches of bags, the bullet holes in varies places on the Mandir, and the bloodstains on the verandah.