BHAKTA DAS PART 20 --- When Surrender Became Control: Bhakta Das on Hamsaduta and the 1978 Fallout

In Session 20, recorded on September 28, 2026, Bhakta Das / William Benedict continues his life story after Berkeley, focusing on the years immediately following Srila Prabhupada's departure in 1977. The conversation begins with Bhakta Das remembering the long emotional strain of Prabhupada's final illness. In Berkeley, devotees were repeatedly told that Prabhupada might leave at any moment, and they gathered for intense kirtans and prayers. When the call finally came that Prabhupada had departed, Bhakta Das says he felt numb rather than openly emotional. It was as if a hammer had fallen on that whole stage of his life: the era of being on the planet with Prabhupada was over. The discussion then turns to the post-1977 guru situation. Bhakta Das explains how devotees were told that Srila Prabhupada had appointed eleven successor gurus who would initiate in their zones and be treated as if they were Prabhupada. Looking back, he says many accepted the arrangement out of sentiment, faith, and trust in the GBC, while others saw immediately that something was wrong. The interviewer, who was in Vrindavan when Prabhupada passed away, says no such appointment was announced around Prabhupada's room. They distinguish the earlier authorization for ritvik acharyas to initiate on Prabhupada's behalf while he was physically ill from the later zonal guru system. Bhakta Das reflects on the pressure to "surrender" to the new gurus, including the claim that without surrendering to one of the eleven, a disciple would no longer have a relationship with Prabhupada. He now calls that idea spiritually insane. Much of the session focuses on Hamsaduta's arrival in Berkeley. At first, Bhakta Das says Hamsaduta was inspiring: a powerful preacher, singer, cook, and kirtan leader who treated godbrothers warmly and personally. Under that influence, Bhakta Das became spiritually enlivened again, stopped a short period of intoxication, resumed temple life, and began giving 50 percent of his business income, about $2,000 a month, to Hamsaduta or the Berkeley temple. But the pressure grew. Hamsaduta wanted more money and eventually asked Bhakta Das to take sannyasa, even though he had a wife and two very young children. The instruction threw Bhakta Das into such distress that his wife briefly had him admitted to Marin General Hospital's psychiatric department. After a day or two, he came to his senses and rejected the idea. Bhakta Das also recalls his side business with Shaklee products. He and his wife did well, but he eventually dropped it because he was exhausted from trying to maintain both businesses. The middle of the interview describes the spiritual disconnection many devotees felt after Prabhupada's departure. Bhakta Das remembers a New Year's Eve 1977 party in the Oakland Hills where many former leaders, including several former sannyasis, were using intoxicants. He was shocked, but also sees the scene as a symptom of lost sadhu-sanga. When devotees became estranged from the temple, they lost the association that had given them strength. Without a higher taste, he says, people drifted back toward old habits. The final section tells the story of Bhakta Das becoming a pilot at Hamsaduta's request. Hamsaduta wanted him to fly around a large preaching zone, and Bhakta Das bought a $55,000 plane and pursued pilot and instrument training. He describes fog over the Bay Area and dangerous landings, including one on a short muddy mountain runway where the plane barely stopped before a drop-off while Hamsaduta laughed with excitement. The breaking point came in late 1979, when Hamsaduta ordered him to overload the plane with extra passengers. Bhakta Das refused, saying that as the pilot he was responsible for the lives of everyone onboard. Hamsaduta accused him of lying and not being surrendered. In that moment, Bhakta Das says, whatever love or faith he had left for Hamsaduta was severed, and he stopped giving him money. Afterward, Bhakta Das says Hamsaduta spread the false claim that he was smuggling drugs in his plane and withholding profits. Soon his wallet, driver's license, credit cards, and checkbook were stolen, and purchases were made in his name: guns, knives, a horse saddle, and black-and-white floor tiles. Police later suspected him of fraud, but he explained that his identity documents had been stolen. On Gaura Purnima in 1980, he and Hetu Das searched Hamsaduta's Hopland-area farm and found the purchased items. A police raid followed, and Hamsaduta and others fled to Manila. The session ends with Bhakta Das describing the deepest wound: after Hamsaduta left, he expected senior leaders to give him moral and spiritual support. Instead, he says he was told that "we were in a war" and that in war some soldiers die. He felt used, disposable, and shot in the heart. He stayed away from temples for four or five years and fell further into intoxication. The next session is set up to cover his married life, wife, and children.