“That Is My Greatest Fear”: Seeking Shelter, the Documentary on the Life of Bhakti Charu Swami

A 2021 film by Karuna Productions follows Bhakti Charu Swami from a westernised Bengali home to Srila Prabhupada’s side, through his years on the GBC, and to the fear he named about the moment of death.

Bhakti Charu Swami died of complications from Covid-19 on 4 July 2020 in Orlando, Florida, at the age of 74. “Seeking Shelter: The Life & Legacy of Bhakti Charu Swami”, a 37-minute documentary written and directed by Krisztina Danka, tells his story largely in his own words, music and art. Karuna Productions released it on YouTube on 23 July 2021.^[1]

From Germany to Prabhupada’s side

He says in the film that his grandfather was a Vaishnava but that his father, a film-maker, was “progressive minded”, and that he grew up believing “the west is the best”. He went to Germany to study, dropped out, developed an appreciation for Indian culture there and came home looking for a guru. After about a year of disappointment, he says, he stopped searching: “If I do have a spiritual master then let him come and pick me up.” Then he read Prabhupada’s book.^[1]

Prabhupada told him to translate his books into Bengali, corrected the work closely, and in doing so gave him what he calls “the excuse of going to Srila Prabhupada anytime I wanted”. He was given Bengali and then Hindi letters to answer, was appointed secretary for Indian affairs, moved into the room next to Prabhupada’s, and was taught to cook for him. In Prabhupada’s last year, he says, “I was with him practically all the time.”^[1]

Temples, chapatis and the GBC

From 1987 he took on management. A fellow GBC member in the film recalls about 20 years together on the commission, and colleagues describe his approach to disputes as a call to keep Prabhupada at the centre and cooperate. Invited by the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, he built a temple in Ujjain in, by his count, nine months and 20 days. A school-meals programme there began with 25,000 children, which meant 75,000 chapatis a day and a machine making 10,000 an hour.^[1]

The film also covers the 118-acre cow sanctuary he bought in Deland, Florida, which gave out free prasadam to first responders and hospitals during Covid; his preaching to people in business; his work at United Nations forums; the Global Ambassador of Peace award of 2016; and his memoir, Ocean of Mercy.^[1]

Music and the Abhay Charan series

Colleagues remember his nearly a dozen albums and the Abhay Charan television series on Prabhupada’s life, which he directed and scored with no experience of the medium and a crew of willing devotees. The actor who played Keith Ham, later Kirtanananda, tells how he was asked to shave his long hair on camera, and how he later took initiation from Bhakti Charu Swami: “if I cut my hair for him, he must be the one.”^[1]

“That is my greatest fear”

The closing section turns to the title’s theme, sharanagati, or taking shelter. He speaks about the end of life:^[1]

“When I’m awake, when I’m conscious, I can direct my mind. I can direct my will. I can think about Krishna. But I know, at the time of death I won’t have that ability. That is my greatest fear.”

Bhakti Charu Swami, in “Seeking Shelter” ^[1]

He goes on to say that he fears losing Krishna at that critical moment. The film ends on his description of Prabhupada’s departure, when his world “became completely empty”, and of how he came to feel Prabhupada urging him onward, as a mother hiding behind a curtain urges on a child learning to walk.^[1]

The film’s poster lists honours from the Tagore International Film Festival and the L’Age d’Or International Arthouse Film Festival in 2021. Its executive producer is Rishi Singh, its producers Sharon Hamilton-Getz and Arundhati Biswas, and its director of photography Filip Cargonja.^[1]

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Sources

1. Karuna Productions, “Seeking Shelter: The Life & Legacy of Bhakti Charu Swami”, YouTube, 23 July 2021. youtu.be/enVfsJSzk-4