Harikesa Swami

Harikesa Swami

Harikesa Swami , actually Robert Campagnola , (* 1948 in New York ) is an American musician and representative of the Hare Krishna movement ISKCON . Within this movement he appeared as Harikesa Swami and Vishnupada . He was a close confidante of AC Bhaktivedanta and headed the Krishna sales organization Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (formerly: Lotus Eye Music ), through which he wrote not only literature but also music from the bands Rasa , Bliss and Sri Hari, which he has directed since 1978distribution. Campagnola distanced himself from ISKCON in 1998, but continues to work as a spiritual mentor and musician under the name Hari .

Life

Robert Campagnola graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook with a license to teach and was involved in various charitable projects. He was with the East Williston Volunteer Fire Department for six years . While preparing for a music career, he came into contact with the Hare Krishna movement ISKCON . He met its founder and director AC Bhaktivedanta ( Swami Prabhupada ), whose music he recorded in Brooklyn in July 1971. He was later introduced to the Krishna movement by Prabhupada in New York and was given the name Harikesa dasa . He then traveled through North America with the ISKCON Road Show , where he played the organ and guitar and took part in scenic stage performances. In March 1972, at Prabhupada's request, he went to India to work in project development.

Harikesa was Prabhupada's personal secretary for some time, translating books for him, planning trips, cooking, answering letters, etc. In February 1976 he became a sannyasin and traveled through western and eastern Europe including the Soviet Union to spread Prabhupada's teachings. After Prabhupada's death in 1977, Harikesa became one of the eleven so-called Zonal Acaryas who were allowed to carry out Krishna initiations as sole gurus until the end of the Zonal Acarya system in 1986 . Harikesa was responsible for Central Europe and the Eastern Bloc countries. He is said to have introduced over 3000 candidates. He also took over the management of the Krishna publishing house Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), which he expanded from an insignificant backyard operation to a major publisher, which by 1998 published over 450 titles in 37 languages.

The fact that Harikesa and his employees managed to control one of the then still very expensive typesetting computers via a commercially available home computer ( Heathkit / Zilog Z80 ) and thus be able to produce typesetting in Sanskrit and Cyrillic at a very affordable price contributed to the success of the publishing house . The Krishna programmers under Harikesa also developed the first WYSIWYG clone of the WordStar text program and - long before the Internet - a worldwide, digital communication network called a COM system , via which the worldwide activities of the OPET were coordinated.

After cassette recordings of Harikesa's musical performances of the early 1970s were circulating, he recorded the album Oasis in 1978 with Dattatreya (drums), Mats Olauson (piano), Stig Sjoberg (guitar) and a bassist under the group name Rasa , which was about Krishna - In-house sales Lotus Eye was successfully marketed. The group became particularly popular in Europe and has also played at various festivals, especially in Germany. The repertoire consisted of adaptations of Indian texts and songs and original compositions by Harikesa , who appeared on the records as Vishnupada . In terms of style, Rasa records are a colorful mix of rock and pop, with echoes of progressive rock, blues, reggae and Indian music. Together with Ekhardt Matz ( Ekanath das ) he set up a recording studio in Korsnas Gard (Sweden), in which other albums by Rasa , other artists and broadcasts for Stockholm Radio Krishna were produced. Rasa existed in changing formations until 1984. From 1987 to 1997 Campagnola recorded further albums with Mats Olauson under the group name Bliss , but these did not have the stylistic diversity of Rasa releases. In the mid-1990s, he also released two albums with Krishna techno under the name Sri Hari .

As early as 1977 he was appointed to the Sri Mayapur Project Development Committee , of which he was director after 1991, and which had the aim of building a temple with associated infrastructure in Mayapur (West Bengal, India). The project is said to have developed extremely successfully by the mid-1990s, but then stagnated when rumors of Prabhupada poisoning and allegations of child abuse emerged within the Gurukulas of the Krishna movement. In 1998, when it was found that a supposed Ayurvedic remedy (“ Vibhuti ”) that Harikesa had been taking since 1988 was actually a mixture of two psychotropic drugs, he collapsed and had to undergo emergency treatment. He began an affair with the massage therapist who then treated him, which violated the moral code for gurus of the Hare Krishna movement. After his authorization to initiate new students was withdrawn, he withdrew from the movement shortly afterwards.

Robert Campagnola calls himself Hari today , lives in Florida and there married a former Krishna follower from Sweden, Katarina. He continues to give spiritual lectures and record music.

Fonts

• Harikesa Swami: Varnasrama Manifesto for Social Sanity . Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1981, ISBN 0-89213-042-3 . Edited by Devamrita Swami.
• Harikesa Swami: The Thirteenth Chapter . Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1985, ISBN 91-85580-46-5
• Harikesa Swami: The Krsna Conscious Handbook . Underground Soviet Publication during the Cold War, 1986
• Harikesa Swami: Basic Management Book for ISKCON Temples . ISKCON publication, 1989
• Harikesa Swami: Essential Truths - The Questions and Answers Conference 1989-1994 , Sentient Press, 1996, ISBN 91-7149-296-8
• Harikesa Swami: All glories to the Sankirtana devotees . Sentient Press, 1996, ISBN 91-7149-298-4
• Harikesa Swami: On Social Issues . Sentient Press, 1998, ISBN 91-7149-392-1
• Harikesa Swami: The Leadership and Management Seminar . Sentient Press, 1998, Video and Audio Cassette Packs
• Robert Campagnola: Essays in Hari's Corner. 2005-2007, Harimedia

Discography

with Rasa:

• RASA: Oasis (1978)
• RASA: Coming Into Full Bloom (1979)
• RASA: Setting the Scene (1980)
• RASA: Alive (1980)
• RASA: Creation (1981)
• RASA: Transparent Medium (1981)
• RASA: Dancing on the Head of the Serpent (1982)
• RASA: Swinging (1982)
• RASA: Universal Forum (1983)

with bliss:

• BLISS: Along the Edge (1987)
• BLISS: Rebellion (1988)
• BLISS: Blissed Out (1988)
• BLISS: Wings to Fly (1988)
• BLISS: The Future Belongs to Me (1991)
• BLISS: Connected (1992)
• BLISS: Under a Desire Tree (1993)
• BLISS: Illumination (1994)
• BLISS: Remember (1994)
• BLISS: Rosewater (1995)
• BLISS: For Your Pleasure (1995)
• BLISS: Mother Bliss (1997)

with Sri Hari:

• Sri Hari: Rising Sign (1994)
• Sri Hari: One But Different (1997)

Notes and sources

1. ↑ Disciple Database ( Memento of the original from November 20, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Harikesa Took "Vibhuti" for 10 Years ( Memento of the original from May 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Harikesa Ill ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ Essays by Hari

Web link

• Robert Campagnola (Hari) official website