Sadaputa Prabhu: Words of Praise
I feel I should say a few words about Sadaputa Prabhu, on the occasion of his disappearance, as I worked for him from 1988 to 2005, assisting mostly with book and video production. Actually beyond it being an obligation, I took as both a great honor and a great pleasure working for him, and I take great pleasure in glorifying him and his achievements.
Srila Prabhupada said, "The more we kick on Darwin's face, the more [we] advance in spiritual consciousness. He has killed the whole civilization, rascal" (Morning Walk, May 12, 1973, Los Angeles). Through his strong words, Srila Prabhupada made it clear that Darwin's materialistic theory has created a so-called civilization in which the quest for self-realization, the goal of human life, will never arise, and he wanted the theory completed discredited. Sadaputa Prabhu dealt many great blows in this connection, which I personally appreciate.
Before I went to work with Sadaputa Prabhu, I thought that in the sense the scientists are presenting that life came to be without God, you could say that are cheating. In Forbidden Archeology, Sadaputa Prabhu and Drutakarma Prabhu show that even according to the ordinary dictionary definition of cheating, the scientists are cheating. By discrediting evidence that does not fit the theory instead of altering the theory to accommodate the evidence, as their scientific method requires, they maintain a false theory and claim objective evidential support. This is a first class example of cheating, elaborately exposed by the grace of Sadaputa and Drutakarma Prabhus, who describe dozens of cases in their book. I hope in the future they both get the recognition for exposing that great hoax of an idea, namely that humans have evolved from apes. In Sadaputa Prabhu's video, "Models of Natural Selection," he shows that the probability of evolution by natural selection of even the simplest organism is out of the question, to the extent of 1 in 10 to the 84th power! In Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science he points out that according to information theory there is a conservation of information, and one cannot explain the existence complex biological forms with the simple laws of physics alone. All are wonderful contributions.
His analysis of the Bhagavata cosmology as meaningful in at least four different self-consistent ways is brilliant as is his discovery that the geocentric orbits of the planets line up with the oceans and dvipas of Bhumandala, which provides evidence of advanced astronomical knowledge in India thousands of years ago, and shows the Bhagavata description is not mythology, but a model encoding astronomical and geographical information, well ahead of its time.
Analyzing Vedic star coordinates and the present star coordinates and rates of motion, Sadaputa Prabhu, gave evidence for exact measurement of star positions in India sometime about 30,000 or 40,000 years ago. Such advancement of civilization in ancient times is consistent with traditional Vedic ideas but revolutionary for Western scholars, even the most liberal.
Some people did not appreciate his book on UFOs, because that topic is considered disreputable. Sadaputa Prabhu, a true scientist, was more interested in empirical evidence which provides insight into reality than academic or public opinion. He wrote the book because he read in the Bhagavatam about so many vimanas (flying machines), and so many species of humanlike living beings, many with supernatural powers. He thought if this Vedic version is the truth, there must be some empirical evidence for it. He found in the modern UFO literature amazing parallels with ancient accounts from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Bhagavatam. One reviewer of his book, Alien Identities, described it as "the most honest UFO book ever written." Most UFO authors are true believers who bend the facts to support the existence of the UFOs or debunkers who try to explain away all the evidence as deriving from man-made or meteorological phenomena. Sadaputa Prabhu was just interested in the truth about the phenomena, and thus that reviewer and many others were impressed.
When asked by one devotee why he accepted the Vedic knowledge with all its peculiarities, Sadaputa Prabhu replied, Because it can explain so many things." Consciousness, the complexity of biological form, inspiration, out-of-body experiences, past life memories, psychic healing, mystic power, telepathy, psychokinesis, precognition, teleportation, UFOs, ETs, ghosts, and all kinds of natural and supernatural phenomena can be explained with the Vedic world view. On the contrary, modern scientists' attempts to explain all these are either full of fault or else nonexistence because of their firm faith the phenomena cannot exist despite abundant human testimony.
Sadaputa Prabhu was hardworking, brilliant in analysis, consummately fair, humorous, honest and sincere, and faithful to Srila Prabhupada and the Vedic version. He never really disappointed me. I felt sad when people attacked him or didn't appreciate him. He is one who deserves to be appreciated for his sincere efforts.
He was very humorous. In his Origins lectures series, discussing the faith the scientists have in their imperfect theories, he exclaims "And the scientists, they BELIEVE in their theories! They BELIEVE in their theories as much as any Baptist BELIEVES in Lord Jesus Christ!"
I left working for him not because of disagreement, but because at the end, I was just doing accounting and shipping, which I felt any secretary could do. What needed to be done was to promote his books, and I did not have the vision to do that, and unfortunately, I did not even have the determination to enlist someone who did. I felt out of place in Alachua--one brahmacari among a handful, in a household community. I think he understood. Perhaps if he were in my situation, he would have left too.
I still show his videos. I showed "Mind and Brain," "Natural Selection, " and "Mysterious Orbits" in Finland this month, and I showed the Russian version of "The Hidden History of the Human Race" last week at the Ukraine festival. They are valuable and devotees desire to get them to help with their academic programs. I thought he should get some royalties for the videos I distribute, and I asked if I could send money to his email address, but he never wrote me back.
On September 22, in Wroclaw, I met Karanam Prabhu, who published many of Sadaputa Prabhu's books in Polish. He sold at least 60,000, and maybe even 70,000 copies of the Polish version of the abridged Forbidden Archeology. Just this week, he told me, an order came for 300 more.
In February 2007, I sent Sadaputa Prabhu an article about about the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research lab closing after nearly thirty years of fruitful research into the paranormal. He quoted from their studies, and so I thought he would be interested. Sadaputa Prabhu wrote me back the last email I ever got from him, "Thanks. The end of an era..." That too is how it feels for me now that he has disappeared, "The end of an era..."
As Sadaputa Prabhu is a faithful follower of Srila Prabhupada, playing a key role in his mission, I am hopeful of his attainment of Srila Prabhupada's full mercy, which he bestows on those who give their valuable human lives fully to his service. At least we can all pray for that.
I submit these words for the pleasure of the devotees. Please accept them.
In addition, I think a book and video should be produced telling of his life and his achievements. I do not have the determination to do it personally, but I am willing to suggest and contribute content and to proofread the book. I would like it if anyone interested in that might contact me. I have an account on PAMHO, where my user name is "Krsna-krpa SDG". Also perhaps at the Mayapur festival this year, some special program honoring him might be included.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Your servant,
Krishna-kripa das
a very imperfect servant of Sadaputa Prabhu and the other glorious followers of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, founder-acarya, of ISKCON, BBT, and BI.