I don't understand how you could say that he had no real power.
He was the foremost authority on Vedic cosmology as per the 5th canto.
After my comments here, you can find quotes from Srila Prabhupada in
which he specifically instructs his Temple of Vedic Planetarium be
based on the 5th canto.
If you search the vedabase, you will see scores of references to the
Plantarium by Prabhupada. too many to list. This is "the big
project".
Saduputa was the one who elucidated the 5th canto describing the
cosmology as it was to be portrayed in the plantetarium. Everyone who
was anyone in Iskcon knew that. In 1997, the TVOP project was largely
conceptualized, here are quotes from the Shri Mayapur News. Vol 1,
Number 2. October 1997.
"Sadaputa das was asked by the SMPDC to be the main designer for the
exhibitions that will play such a large part in the Temple of the
Vedic Planetarium. He works closely with Jayapataka Swami and
Priyavrata das. He is designing exhibits using 3D computer animation
and multimedia techniques."
"Pavilion 1, which will feature the work of Sadaputa prabhu, will
include a small planetarium, which will demonstrate the Vedic version
of the universe. There will also be an exhibition of Vedic
archaeology, following the descriptions of the various yugas in the
Markendeya Purana. Their will be a side exhibit showing the extent of
the influence of Vedic culture throughout the world."
Worst of all Sadaputa was going for the JUGULAR. - "The timescale of
human history held by modern archaeologists will be challenged. Many
anomalies have been disregarded to arrive at the current conclusions
about the origin of humankind. Recent research by Sadaputa prabhu into
the Markendeya Purana will show that evidence of previous yugas is
misinterpreted by modern science as 'primitive' and 'stone-age'."
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Funding dried up almost immediately for the Planetarium and exhibit
aspect of the Mayapura temple. The Project Development committee also
changed hands over the years. It took about 7 years for Iskcon to
begin research on the planetarium aspect. Some unnamed power player
"recruited" (appointed) the Joeseph Goebells of Iskcon (Spin Dr.
Ravindra Swarupa) as Project manager. Only then was Saduputa das
contacted again and made part of the research team. As per team
member "Carana Renu dasi"
CR dasi: "I had to wait a few more years before I would meet this
great ISKCON scientist. It happened after I became involved in
research work for the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP). In early
2004 I met Pancharatna Prabhu who invited me to get involved in the
project. At that time there was no official research group for the
Vedic Planetarium. There had been earlier efforts, mainly by Sadaputa
Prabhu, which resulted in his book on Vedic cosmography and later his
Mysteries of the Sacred Universe, but, after the management and
finances for the TOVP project collapsed in the late 90s, there was no
organized research going on. I could see from the beginning that this
was a huge subject area to research, and that it was not a one man (or
one woman) job. I began to contact various qualified ISKCON scholars I
knew for their advice. Sadaputa Prabhu was an obvious choice. He
replied enthusiastically – he was keen to contribute. I could tell
even from the beginning that the TOVP project was very important to
him; not as an academic exercise, more like a life-mission; not for
his own intellectual prestige, but for the pleasure of his spiritual
master, Srila Prabhupada.
I drew up a list of research goals and objectives for the Vedic
Planetarium research project, then Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu was
recruited as the Project Leader and together we invited Sadaputa
Prabhu and others to form a research committee. In the beginning I
only knew Sadaputa through his emails.
I finally met Sadaputa in person when the research committee first met
in 2006 in Gainesville. My first impression was that he was gentle and
humble – quite a rare thing for a scientist. He was also funny. When
Brahmatirtha Prabhu introduced him as Sadaputa, he added with a smile
“or Sada-Putana as the local gurukulis call me.” During the meetings,
it was interesting for me to see how he would approach each subject
with his own unique perspective. He would analyse the issues with
extreme concentration, and present relevant observations that came
from a fresh and often unexpected angle. Practically everything he
spoke was deep and profound, spoken with such concentration and
intensity . I lost count of how many times I heard Ravindra Svarupa
Prabhu use the words “wow” and “far out” in those meetings. There was
certainly something very mysterious and sage-like about Sadaputa
Prabhu, but at the same time something very human and likable. He was
extremely broad minded, but not arrogant as some/many scientists can
be.
During the meetings, he contributed from his years of experience and
knowledge and helped to refine the research plan. After that we
continued to exchange emails on subjects such as the problems of
geocentrism, relativity, interpretations of the Fifth Canto and
Puranic cosmology in general.
I was fortunate to meet Sadaputa again in December 2007 at the ISKCON
Academy of Arts and Sciences Conference in New Vrindaban, where he
gave a presentation entitled “Interpretation and the Srimad
Bhagavatam.” He gave insights into sections of the Bhagavatam based on
his scientific background. He used the calculation of time from the
atom (3rd Canto) as one example, and Bhumandala (5th Canto) as
another."
http://sisumara.com/?p=144
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Sivarama Swami, confirms some of what the Mataji wrote above, and
gives us his recollection of what went down in 2008 that led up to the
Day Saduputa disappeared, including a decent timeline of events
illustrating the passing of TVOP leadership over the years.
"Sadaputa, Advaita and myself traveled to several science museums in
the US. After some research we came to know that Srila Prabhupada had
requested Ambarish prabhu to build a cultural center and planetarium
in Washington DC. I contacted Ambarish prabhu and he was initially
skeptical (again that “˜Oh no, not the Fifth Canto!) and then
cautiously supportive with the reassurance that Sadaputa could
actually pull it off without making us a laughing stock.
Thus in 1992 at the Mayapur GBC meetings we submitted a plan under the
auspices of a newly formed non-profit entity “˜Vedic Cultural
Foundation‘ to develop a medium sized Vedic cultural and science
museum with a planetariumon our ISKCON Potomac property. The GBC
passed the proposal.
What happened? We returned to America with the good news, only to find
that Narayan prabhu’s business had gone bust and our funding was
finished. We were not able to find alternative funding so the project
was shelved. It seemed like our year of endeavor had come to naught;
but there was the celebrated silver lining. During our Mayapur visit
we chanced to met with Padasevanam das, a fairly new devotee who had
recently been appointed as architect for the Mayapura TOVP. I was
surprised to find that Padasevanam was unaware of most of Srila
Prabhupada’s instructions for the planetarium, and he had no idea of
Sadaputa’s work. He had been told to make the planetarium a completely
separate building from the main temple. News that Srila Prabhupada had
said to put it in the main dome came as a revelation to him.
I brought Sadaputa prabhu and Padasevanam together. Harikesa Swami,
the SMPDC leader, was also unaware of Sadaputa’s work and after their
meetings their plans were revised. Sadaputa was officially brought
onto the Mayapur TOVP team and the planetarium was returned back into
the main building.
(Note, this corresponds with the 1997 newsletter quotes from the
beginning of this post)
For some years things seemed to progress but then in 1998 Harikesa
left the project, the funding collapsed and Sadaputa prabhu had to
temporarily set aside his work on the TOVP. It was another time of
frustration for him but his desire remained burning bright.
After some years things began to move ahead again. Ambarish prabhu
became the chairman of the Mayapur project development and a new
design was made. A team of scholars was formed under the leadership
of Ravindra Svarupa prabhu to study in detail the Vedic cosmology and
Sadaputa prabhu was participating as a key member of their executive
committee.
As the building became more detailed with floor plans and the GBC gave
its blessings to go ahead, it became clear that one vital element in
the main dome needed urgent attention. Srila Prabhupada had always
described the planetary situation as a kind of inverted tree and in a
letter from November 1976 he described a giant chandelier hanging
within the dome that would depict the movements of the major
planets““sun, moon, earth, pole star etc.
This year then, 2008, after consultations with the TOVP cosmology and
construction teams, Sadaputa prabhu was commissioned to design this
wonderous edifice which would show at a glance the Bhagavatam’s
description of our cosmos. He had all the necessary skills and
knowledge plus the practical bent of mind needed to accomplish the
task.
As the TOVP exhibits coordinator, I convened a meeting on June 10 2008
at Brahma Tirtha prabhu’s house in Gainesville FL to begin the work of
planning the exhibits that will go in the TOVP planetarium wing and
theater. A couple of days prior to the meeting I had the chance to
visit Sadaputa prabhu at his house. Tamraparni and Stitha Dhi Muni
prabhus invited me along to what had become weekly darshana in which
they would share their realizations and mainly just become inspired by
the insights and realizations flowing from Sadaputa’s remarkable
brain.
It was a reunion of sorts. I hadn’t seen Sadaputa prabhu since 1995
when I moved from Alachua to Mayapur. Now here we were together again,
in similar roles that we had before when we were planning the science
museum in 1991-92. I was gratified that he was happy to see me, and
naturally I was happy to see him. We spent a couple of hours going
over his vision of the planetarium and its use, he re-iterating the
shows he would like to develop and what he wanted to convey through
them. It was edifying and enlivening to see that he had lost none of
his old enthusiasm nor his clarity of thought. He was keen to
participate and that was a great reassurance.
In attendance at the main meeting were Jayapataka Swami, Sadaputa
prabhu,Ravindra Svarupa prabhu, Drutakarma prabhu, cosmology team
coordinator Sraddhadevi dasi, architects Anup and Vilasini Sharma,
Nitya Trpta dasi,Brahma Tirtha prabhu and myself. We had a one hour
presentation from GOTO, a company that has built hundreds of
planetariums around the world including a recent one at the Community
college in Gainesville.
We spent an excellent day laying the foundations for future
development of exhibits. One outcome was that Sadaputa prabhu would
submit drafts outlining the various shows he would present in the
planetarium theater. He assured us that he had enough material to keep
the planetarium working to capacity.
True to form, in the two months that followed, Sadaputa prabhu worked
methodically and efficiently on the design of the planetary
chandelier. With his knowledge of the Fifth Canto and his learning in
physics and mathematics, he came up with a thirteen page paper which
gives sufficient detail to enable the chandelier to be built. The next
step was for him to create a computer model of his descriptive and
then move to the actual engineering of it. He submitted his proposal
in mid-September, just days before his departure.
So near, yet so far. Where does this leave us?
I don’t think its an exaggeration to say “no Sadaputa, no
planetarium.’ Still we are confident we can move forward despite the
tremendous loss of his physical presence. Why? Because he was
industrious enough to write and publish all his thoughts and
realizations. If we can decipher his writings and manifest them into 3-
dimensional time and space we can perpetuate his genius through
generations to come. Thanks to Sadaputa prabhu’s brilliance Srila
Prabhupada’s dream can be fulfilled.
http://www.sivaramaswami.com/en/2008/09/26/sadaputa-prabhu-leaves-his-body/
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So, who are the current directors at TVOP mayapura?
Chairman (aka moneyman) Ambarish Ford, who was ordered to fund a
planetarium in DC.
Creative Director: Bhavananda (Yes the infamously notorious
Bhavananda)
Managing Director: Sadbuja Das (Right hand man of Iskcon Mafia titans
HH Gopal Krsna "Goswami" and Abhirama)
Science exhibits coordinartor: Hari Sauri das: (Yes that Uncle Harry
of swipe your credit card for Kali Puja in Prabhupada's temple fame)
Vedic cosmology Director: Antardwip das.
“The devotees who take action against the ritviks in all three
Rathayatras are generally our younger members. […] The blows the
ritviks get are given out of love for Srila Prabhupada. They are not
violence.”
(Antardwip Das, publisher, Vaisnava Connection, Vol. 8, Issue 2, March/
April 2005)
Antardwip das was given the service of interpreting Sadaputa's 13 page
paper that Sadaputa himself was to use to engineer the chandelier in
the TVOP. Antardwip das then gave his own design of the chandelier.
The design for the chandelier of Vedic Planetarium was just recently
approved by the GBC committee, and I was fortunate enough to interview
the designer, our very own, Antardwip Das. The chandelier is one of
the most intricate parts of the temple. It will show how the planets
move in the sky as depicted in the Srimad Bhagavatam.
http://tovp.org/en/news/blog/157-the-design-for-the-chandelier-of-vedic-planetarium
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Now, I don't know where I heard about a rumor of any disagreements
during these meetings. I don't remember the source, nor could I find
it written on the internet.
From Sivarama's account, there were simply multiple cordial
information gathering meetings in the months leading up to Sadaputa's
untimely disappearance.
It is a known fact that Danavir Goswami wrote a book entitled "vedic
cosmology" refuting Sadaputa's findings and claiming that Sadaputa was
going against the Bhagavat siddhanta and Srila Prabhupada's own
statements regarding Vedic cosmology.
So, I no longer see any motive for suicide unless there is something I
don't know about.
All I see is motive for murder. But this is something only I can see,
and it probably wouldn't be enough circumstantial evidence for a karmi
police investigation, because he doesn't understand the depth of
depravity these scoundrels have been willing to employ to get their
way.
I will state, that it is motive. I don't think it is strong motive.
But if anyone disagrees with me that there was some motive, especially
knowing the history of the principles now at the top of this project,
they are in deep maya.
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Morning Walk -- February 9, 1976, Mayapura :
Prabhupāda: ...from the Bhāgavatam. So this should be mentioned. It is
not only a temple, but a planetarium according to Bhāgavatam, where
which planet is situated, where is Vaikuṇṭhaloka, where is Goloka
Vṛndāvana, where is Mahar...
Morning Walk -- February 28, 1976, Mayapura
Devotee (4): "World's largest planetarium and Temple of
Understanding."
Prabhupāda: No "Understanding" simply Vedic "Temple of Vedic
Planetarium," That's all. We shall show the Vedic conception of
planetary system within this material world and above the material
world. [break] We are going to exhibit the Vedic culture throughout
the whole world, and they'll come here.
Morning Walk -- March 18, 1976, Mayapura:
All he had to do was go public and Prabhupāda: So whatever thoughts
are coming, you note it. Keep it. We shall utilize it with reference,
with reference to the śāstra.
Gurudāsa: Jaya. [break]
Jayapatākā: This special exhibition building?
Prabhupāda: Bhāgavata. Take every page of Bhāgavata. And I think
every year there should be change.
Haṁsadūta: New exhibit.
Prabhupāda: New exhibit.
Room Conversation -- June 15, 1976, Detroit : 760615r3.det :
Prabhupāda: Now you all together make this Vedic planetarium very
nice, so that people will come and see. From the description of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you prepare this Vedic planetarium. How do you like
this idea, Vedic planetarium?
September 1, 1976, Delhi : 760901ed.del :
Prabhupāda: We are trying for another big scheme in Bengal. We have
applied to the government to acquire land, 350 acres, a big
planetarium. Planetarium. We have described the planetarium in our
Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In that planetarium it is said that
the moon is above the sun planet. By one million six hundred thousand
miles.
Dr. Kapoor -- July 26, 1977, Vrndavana : 770726rc.vrn :
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So he offered everything he has to Prabhupāda. So Śrīla
Prabhupāda has requested him to build a large building and put in a
Vedic planetarium in Washington, D.C., capital of the United States,
right near the White House, with the Vedic planetary system according
to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Fifth Canto.