Ratha Yatra in San Francisco
San Francisco can be cold and rainy during the summer, and today is no exception. Ratha-yatra Day is foreboding with chilling winds and numbing cold. Right after mangal-arati Jayananda takes his crew down to the Ratha site. They will make last minute adjustments before pulling the carts in front of Golden Gate Park where the parade will begin at noon. Wearing heavy sweat-socks and jackets, Jayananda's men struggle against the rain to finish on time. It is still overcast when a group of ladies arrive to decorate the chariots. They string garlands of multi-colored roses all around the carts topping them off with bright festoons and flags here and there. This year there will be three chariots, and a few clouds can't dampen the devotees' spirits. They have arrived from all over the country, and both the San Francisco and Berkeley temples are jam packed.
Riktananda: Before the devotees assembled around noon, Vishnujana took as many with him as could be spared to the fabled corner of Haight and Ashbury, ground-zero for the hippie movement. As soon as we began to chant, it seemed that the entire Haight-Ashbury community was turning out to chant with us, filling the streets for blocks around, as well as rooftops and bay windows. In fifteen minutes the scene was tumultuous, as Vishnujana led thousands in ecstatic chanting and dancing. No one could hear his own voice. Around noon the Pied Piper of the maha-mantra led us to the festival site.
By noon most devotees are down at the site in front of the carts where the Ratha-yatra crew is working desperately to get everything ready. The inclement weather has hampered the preparations and the carts are still not ready to go when the parade is supposed to begin. Prabhupada had instructed Vishnujana to teach the devotees the Nrsimha prayers, obviously anticipating some difficulties. Gathering everyone together, Vishnujana goes over the melody and the words. Due to the constant drizzle, it's freezing cold, but the devotees are still enthusiastic, chanting the Nrsimha prayers alongside the giant chariots. The kirtan quickly picks up, taking everybody off the platform of bodily cold. Soon, Lord Jagannath, Lady Subhadra, and Lord Balaram arrive in a limousine, and Vishnujana breaks into "Jaya Jagannath, Jaya Jagannath..." Chanting with intense feeling, his emotional singing captures the hearts of everyone. The kirtan becomes even more exuberant as conches sound along with the booming drums and chiming kartals. Still, the parade is not ready and Prabhupada has not made his appearance.
Manmohini devi dasi: We were looking for a parking place with all the traffic noise, but I could hear Vishnujana singing in the background. I was just sitting in the car, and I was in ecstasy. It was so transcendental. I didn't feel any ego involved. It wasn't like he was concentrating on what a great musician he was, but he was really crying out to Krishna. I was getting high just listening to him, as if I was chanting good rounds myself. He was singing so melodiously. Every single syllable of the mantra was transcendental and so melodic. It was mystical. Everything he did just pierced the material elements. He was just yearning for love of God. You could feel it, and it was like touchstone. He made you feel it. There was something about Vishnujana that was really special. He just had incredible potency unlike just about anybody else that I ever experienced in the movement. It was like he was yearning for Krishna.
Hari Vallabha: The day of the festival, Jayananda says, "OK, you can ride on the cart." That was real special. We had built the telescoping canopy, and we were going to operate the canopy up and down. So Nara-Narayana comes up on the cart, "All right, this is what we're going to do." He was the inspired artist-carpenter. He hadn't been around the whole time, and I didn't know who he was, but he had designed the carts. He was in charge and he wanted everybody to know. So he looked at me and said, "You, off the cart." So I got off the cart, wondering what I had done wrong. Then Jayananda comes up, "What are you doing? You're supposed to be on the cart." "Nara-Narayana kicked me off." Jayananda spoke to Nara-Narayana, "I want him up here. He's my man." "OK." So I rode on the cart that year and operated the canopy.
Finally, by 2:00 PM, a full two hours behind schedule, the chariots are ready. Four turning maneuvers are required to get the carts off the parking lot and onto Stanyan street. Hippies and devotees pick up the ropes attached to the chariots and begin to pull. The parade is on its way. As the chariots are pulled to the entrance of the park at Stanyon and Fell, an ugly incident threatens to further mar the afternoon. Some black kids from the neighborhood want to climb up on the carts with the devotee kids. Madhudvisha tries to explain that it's not possible, but the street kids are obstinate. The devotees have to get firm. The kids finally leave in a vengeful mood only to return with a few very angry young men. In San Francisco many blacks are into the Black Panthers, a right wing militant political group. They insist that the black kids be allowed to get up and ride on Balarama's cart, which is now lagging way behind the other two carts. But Nara-Narayana is not going for that. They interpret this as a racial slur and refuse to allow the cart to proceed. Seeing it as an all-white gathering, they suddenly become very angry with one black devotee, Bhakta Mick, a tall, wiry devotee just returned from Vietnam. They don't like the idea that he is part of a white group, so they start beating him up. Nara-Narayana prevents others from getting onto the cart by grabbing a pennant and keeping them at bay with lance-like thrusts of the pole. Vishnujana steps up the tempo of the kirtan to distract the crowd from the ugly scene.
Kesava: Mohanananda ran up to me, "We're being attacked, we're being attacked. Come quick." We had a reputation for dispatching antagonists in Los Angeles. Together we were a team. If any guys grabbed or insulted our women on sankirtana, then Mohanananda and I would promptly go over and pound them out. There were eight or ten of these guys on top of Mick, and they were pounding him. A few devotees had already been rounded up. So I said to the others, "C'mon. Let's attack. Let's go." I ran over there. When I turned around, I was by myself. Nobody came. So I thought, well, I'm going in alone. I got to the pack and just started grabbing one off at a time. They were all on Mick, so they didn't see what was coming. After I knocked about three or four of them out, then Mick turned around and he was starting to get control. The two of us began working together on all of them.
Nanda Kumar: Some of our devotees have got that kshatriya spirit. During Ratha-yatra some black men were attacking the Deities and throwing rocks. Kesava was picking them up over his head and throwing them across cars. Ten men! He took all of them, only himself, and finished all of them. He was fearless. He said he felt Lord Nrsimhadeva helping him.
Seeing the outbreak of the fight, Madhudvisha runs up Haight Street to Prabhupada's house to apprise him of the situation. He arrives out of breath and blurts out the story. "I suggest that you don't come to the parade now, Srila Prabhupada. It looks nasty." Brahmananda agrees that it wouldn't be a good idea for Prabhupada to attend the parade under the circumstances. He has just arrived from Japan with twenty-five copies of the newly printed KRISHNA book. Srila Prabhupada is gravely disappointed. "Have you advertised that I will be coming?" "Yes." "Then I must come." The incident upsets Prabhupada. It's another portentous omen. "Okay." Madhudvisha runs back to the park.
By this time Tactical Squad officers have arrived on their Honda motorcycles. They are San Francisco police stationed in the park. Armed with helmets and batons, they quickly put an end to the disturbance. No one is arrested. The other two carts have already turned into the park for the start of the parade. Thousands of hippies and curious onlookers gather to see the parade, although it's still overcast with intermittent drizzle.
Balarama's cart struggles to make the turn from Stanyon into the park. The front axle breaks and a wheel goes down. Prabhupada's worst fears have been realized. Unable to go any further, devotees on Balarama's cart shift to the other carts. Balarama's simhasana is taken down and carried by four devotees, like a palanquin, as part of the parade. A tow truck arrives to remove Balarama's cart ingloriously from the scene. Undaunted, the devotees begin the six-mile walk to the ocean with only the two carts, taking shelter of the kirtan led by Vishnujana.
With the parade finally under way, the potency of the Holy Name changes the entire atmosphere into a Vaikuntha mood. The procession attracts a large crowd of mostly young people. Asian Hindus and several thousand straight-looking curious join the predictable host of ersatz cowboys and swashbucklers from Haight-Ashbury. The Sunday crowd is there too, families with their children and pet dogs. As the parade wends its way slowly through the park, Madhudvisha keeps looking back anxiously for Srila Prabhupada to arrive. But Prabhupada has been driven around the park and dropped off a short distance in front of the chariots. All of a sudden Madhudvisha sees him coming toward the carts from the front accompanied by several devotees. The word spreads like wildfire, "Prabhupada is here!" A huge circle of people immediately surrounds him as the procession comes to a halt. Prabhupada gets down on the asphalt road and offers dandabats to Lord Jagannath. Getting back up, he starts dancing joyfully, leaping in the air and whirling around in his bright saffron dhoti. The devotees are amazed to see their spiritual master leaping as he dances in the middle of the circle. The whole spiritual energy from Srila Prabhupada naturally uplifts everybody.
As the sun peaks out from behind the clouds, the procession begins to move again with Prabhupada dancing along, surrounded by his circle of disciples. The fragrance of frankincense pervades the atmosphere as aromatic clouds billow above Lord Jagannath's head. The road is beautifully lined with eucalyptus and oak trees, and the chariots move slowly through the twists and turns of the six-mile journey past flower gardens, ponds, hills, and open green meadows. All of a sudden, a bridge looms up ahead, spanning the road in front of them. A few devotees become anxious; others are alarmed. A quick glance easily reveals that the canopies are much too high to pass under the low arch of the bridge. As the parade approaches the bridge, the devotees' anxiety increases. They don't want their joyous festival ruined by another unforeseen obstacle. Hadn't the festival crew anticipated this happening? Lord Jagannath's cart comes to a halt and the parade stops.
Vishnujana continues his kirtan in front of Srila Prabhupada, who is still dancing amongst the devotees. Nara-Narayana and his crew now leap into action. After what seems like an inordinately long time, the towering canopies slowly begin to descend. Jayananda and Nara Narayan have fashioned the telescoping canopies that are lowered and raised by a crank mechanism, allowing the Rathas to pass underneath the bridge and power lines. The chariots can now pass under the arch of the bridge. The bliss of the devotees increases unlimitedly. Simultaneously, the kirtan goes into overdrive as Vishnujana releases a tremendous burst of unbridled energy, appearing almost mad in ecstasy. The procession proceeds slowly under the bridge with more than 10,000 voices chanting and dancing ecstatically to the Holy Name. The sound of kartals, mrdangas, and voices, uplifted in glorification of Lord Jagannath, is magnified by the concrete walls which produce an incredible echo. The cacophany of sound created under the bridge is so tumultuous that nothing else can be heard except, "Jaya Jagannath, Jaya Jagannath!" As the carts emerge from under the bridge, the parade reaches its peak of spiritual energy. Ordinary park-goers are amazed at the sight of the huge chariots sailing through the grounds like great ships. The multi-colored canopies, billowing in the wind like tremendous sails, beckon onlookers to join the transcendental voyage, out of the material world, back to Vaikuntha.
Jagajivan: Vishnujana led a wonderful kirtan at Ratha-yatra. His voice was oceanic. It was sincere. That was the thing that you really got from his chanting. It was always the idea that Krishna's name would take people's interest rather than the chanter. You were always very much absorbed in the name whenever he was chanting. That was the essence of his chanting, that you could absorb yourself in the Holy Name. It was the chanting that you got from him. He was tireless, indefatigable.
Prana-vallabha: We all came from the hip culture, so it was like going back to the hip culture and giving these lost souls something to look forward to. We had found something, and we were willing to share it with brothers and sisters who were still seeking what Prabhupada had already given us. Everyone in the park is having a wonderful Ratha-yatra experience. From the carts, devotees throw flowers and candy prasadam to the spellbound spectators along the route. Walking alongside the parade are the book distributors. The temple has borrowed some shopping carts from the local supermarket and turned them into mobile book distribution carts. An A-frame structure is secured in the cart so books can be displayed on both sides like shelves. Prabhupada had made the suggestion and came up with the idea for the design.
Ujjvala devi dasi: Everybody went up to San Francisco for Ratha-yatra and KRISHNA book arrived. We had heard that KRISHNA book was coming, and it was a beautiful book with all the stories about Krishna. Gargamuni met us and brought the book with him. I remember being excited to get this book, and we were also going to distribute it. There were only about twenty-four copies, and we got to distribute them at Ratha-yatra. All the householders had these book distribution stands, pyramid shaped on wheels. I was married to Jayatirtha, and we were one of the householder couples who were going to distribute some of these books. I distributed all my books and whoever distributed the most got to distribute Prabhupada's personal copy, so I got to do that. We distributed his personal copy because he told us these books are not for us, they are for the conditioned souls and he gave away his own personal copy. That was his example. We just had the small Gita, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, the three volumes of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Nectar of Devotion, and now KRISHNA book. The movement was growing. The emphasis became Prabhupada's books and his translating. That was really the gist of our movement. It was becoming more apparent that this was what Prabhupada was preaching.
At this point, Srila Prabhupada decides that he now wants to ride on Subhadra's chariot. But some of the leaders restrain him, saying that the carts had been attacked earlier and stones had been thrown. It would be safer if he rides in his car. Although Prabhupada disagrees, he finally relents and rides the rest of the way in the car. As the procession nears the beach, Vishnujana grabs Dina Bandhu. "We need to start a kirtan at the Family Dog before the devotees get there." The Family Dog, with its large stage and high ceilings, is a spacious auditorium that holds about three thousand people. A giant vyasasana has been built for Prabhupada that reaches up towards the ceiling. Gracing the stage on one side is a life-sized painting of Radha-Krishna surrounded by the eight gopis. A huge painting of Lord Caitanya is draped along the other side of the stage creating a perfect balance. Large pie tins have been filled with charcoal, and so much incense is heaped on that tremendous clouds of smoke billow towards the ceiling. The two surviving chariots, their towering tent-like super-structures flapping in the wind, finally arrive on Ocean Highway for the last leg of the journey to the Family Dog rock palace as dusk envelops the waterfront.
Dina Bandhu: Vishnujana brought me to the auditorium, and we started kirtan before anybody else got there. I was just listening to Vishnujana chant. Seeing the beautiful picture of Krishna and the eight gopis, I suddenly realized that I was in Goloka Vrindavana. I can't explain it. All of a sudden San Francisco just disappeared and there was just this wonderful kirtan going on. Hardly anybody was there, and I was just watching the clouds of incense.
Jayananda organizes the multi-course feast served out at the breaker, the sea wall on the beach. There are huge barrels of prasadam: kichari, halava, and fruit salad mixed with yogurt. Thousands of plates are distributed to the Haight-Ashbury crowd, who sit on the grass taking their prasadam to the backdrop of heavy grey clouds and pounding surf. As people pour into the auditorium they are greeted by Vishnujana and his group chanting Hare Krishna. The hall quickly becomes crowded with hippies and threatens to erupt into chaos. Some of the women become frightened with so many strange people, many of whom are completely stoned. Every kind of person imaginable from the Haight-Ashbury scene is packed into the large ballroom that suddenly seems much too small. As Srila Prabhupada enters, hippies throw themselves at his feet. Even Prabhupada appears a little disturbed by this. He mounts the stage and Vishnujana introduces him to the crowd. Prabhupada begins chanting vande 'ham with just his kartals and goes into the Panca Tattva mantra as the mrdangas start up. Vishnujana sings along through his own microphone. After chanting the Panca Tattva mantra three times, Prabhupada launches into Hare Krishna. Now Vishnujana begins playing his harmonium. The crowd starts to get into it and the response increases, echoing around the hall. But after only three-and-a-half minutes, Prabhupada brings the kirtan to a close to begin his talk.
"My dear boys and girls, those who have come here, I welcome you on behalf of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared five hundred years ago, and he introduced this Krishna consciousness movement. This Ratha-yatra is one of the items of this Krishna consciousness movement."
"Jagannath. Just try to understand Jagannath; jagat means 'the moving world,' gacchati te jagat, Sanskrit words; gacchati means 'it is moving.' So all these planets, this universe, even the sun, everything is moving, as we are moving. We are, of course, animate. Even inanimate things are moving. Your motor car is moving, your machine is moving. But they are moving under the control of an animate object. But some of the animate objects stand still, just like trees. But ultimately they are also moving in this sense that one species of life is being transmigrated to another species of life."
"Jagannath, nath means 'the proprietor, master.' Jagannath means the proprietor or the master of all this movement. He is Jagannath. And Balabhadra, Balarama, bala means 'strength,' and rama means 'enjoyment.' So Balarama means He who gives you spiritual strength for enjoying eternal blissful life. He's Balarama. And Subhadra, su means 'auspicious,' and bhadra means 'well-being.' Subhadra, Jagannath, and Balarama combined together are present before you to reclaim you from your miserable condition of life. That is the purpose of this Ratha-yatra festival. If anyone sees on the car, Jagannath, Subhadra, and Baladeva, then he does not take birth again in this material world."
"So I shall not take much of your time, you are tired. But some of the important things I may inform you, that this Krishna consciousness movement is not a religious type. It is a great culture for spiritual emancipation. Try to understand, that we are in this world, not only we are, everything is a combination of matter and spirit. Just like your body. This body is matter, but within this body you, the spirit soul, is encaged, or embodied. So anywhere you see, the tree, there are so many species of life. Every species, every individual living entity, is a combination of spirit and matter. When the spirit is out of this body, then the body is matter only. Just like in your Bible also it is said, 'Dust thou art, Dust thou beist.' That dust is this body, but not the spirit soul. So in this material world we are part and parcel of God, Jagannath. And we are under the auspicious protection of Subhadra, and we have got implicitly the spiritual strength."
"In the Vedic literature you will find, na mahatma balahimena labra. Bala means this Balarama, the spiritual strength. The spiritual realization can be achieved by the grace of Lord Balarama. So this human form of life is meant for spiritual realization. Please try to understand, that this human form of life is a chance to get out of this material entanglement. Other than human life, animal life, tree life, bees life, birds life, aquatic life, there are so many 8,400,000 species of life. Out of that, this human form of life is a boon wherein you can get out of this material entanglement. And being freed from this material entanglement, you can enter into the spiritual world, the kingdom of God. And if you go there, then you have not to come back to this material world, which is called duhkhalayam asasvatam. It is the place of miseries as well as temporal. Even if you accept this miserable place, you will not be allowed to live here for long. You have to quit this place, therefore it is called asasvatam. This is our position."
"In the Bhagavad-gita the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself says that it is duhkhalayam asasvatam. So the human form of life should endeavor how to get out of it. In this country, especially, in all other countries also, the younger generation are not getting satisfied. In your country we see the frustrated community, the confused community, the hippies. But I have all sympathy for this frustrated community everywhere. There should be frustration. In the Vedanta Sutra it is said athato brahma jijnasa. This human form of life should feel frustration. If he does not feel frustration, then it is animal life. The symptom of human life is that he should be very much pessimistic, not optimistic, of this material world. Then there is path of liberation. And if we think that we are very much happy here, that is called illusion, maya. Nobody is actually happy here. But if anyone wrongly thinks that he is happy, that is called maya, illusion."
"So my request to you, those who are feeling frustration and confused, this is a good qualification. A good qualification in this sense, that they who are feeling frustration and confused, they are disgusted with this materialistic way of life. That is a good qualification for spiritual advancement. But if you are not properly guided, then that will be another frustration. To save you from that frustration, this Krishna consciousness movement has come to your country; Lord Caitanya's movement."
"A great devotee, Narottama dasa Thakur, he sings, patita-pavana-hetu tava avatara. My dear Lord, Your incarnation is to reclaim all kinds of fallen souls. mo-sama patita prabhu na paibe ara. But I am the most fallen. Therefore my claim is first, because You have advented Yourself to claim all fallen souls. I am the most fallen, therefore You take care of me first."
"So actually who is a fallen soul? Fallen soul means anyone who has taken birth in this material world, he is a fallen soul. Never mind what he is. He may be Brahma, or he may be an insignificant ant. Anyone who is within this material world, because our constitutional position is spirit soul. Spirit means anandamayo'bhyasat, by nature joyful. That is spiritual."
"So because we have been put into some awkward position of this material existence, therefore we are, although constitutionally we are joyful, we do not find anything joyful. Try to understand this point. In this material world, because we have been encaged with this material body, although our endeavor is to become joyful, on account of the encagement of this material body, we are not joyful. In the Vedic literatures, the whole Vedas, there are four Vedas originally. So this Vedic literature is giving us the help and the clue how we can get out of this miserable condition of life. This Krishna consciousness movement is the essence or cream of all the Vedic literatures."
"In the Bhagavad-gita you will find that vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah. By studying all the Vedic literatures you will have to find out Krishna. And Krishna is so kind. Radha-Krishna's incarnation, Lord Caitanya, is so kind that He is giving you Krishna in the form of His name, nama-rupe krishna-avatara. So this Hare Krishna movement, practically you can see also, the name Krishna and the original Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna are non-different. If you simply chant this Hare Krishna mantra then you are associating constantly with Krishna. That is a fact. So my request to you, those who are feeling frustration or confused, please take to this maha-mantra chanting, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare."
"When I was coming, I was waiting there to see the procession, so many boys and girls who are not within our Krishna consciousness group, they are outsiders, but they are also chanting this Hare Krishna mantra very feelingly. I was very much satisfied. Therefore my request is, I am specially come to you, I am not feeling very well to come here, but because I have come to San Francisco, I must give you the message. It is a very important message."
"Those of you who are feeling frustration and confused, kindly take to this chanting of Hare Krishna mantra. That's all. There is no expenditure, there is no loss. We are not charging anything. It is not a business, like we're asking you to pay something because I am giving this information. No. It is freely distributed. You please chant this Hare Krishna mantra twenty-four hours. You can work, you can walk, and at the same time chant this Hare Krishna mantra."
"So this Ratha-yatra festival is a mass movement for enlightening people to this Krishna consciousness movement. We have got many other activities in Krishna consciousness movement. We have got Janmashtami, Ram Naumi, Dol Yatra, Jhulana Yatra. So there are twelve months, but we have got twenty-four festivals as big as this Ratha-yatra festival. So if you kindly take to them, then, as advised by Lord Caitanya, kirtaniyah sada harih, you'll always be in Krishna consciousness, and there will be no scope of your frustration and confusion."
"For this purpose especially, I came to this meeting. But you kindly accept this humble instruction, that wherever you may be, in whatever position, in whatever condition, you kindly chant these sixteen names Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare."
The audience begins to respond, chanting along with Srila Prabhupada. "Chant again." More people join in. "Again!" The entire auditorium now chants the maha-mantra as Prabhupada beams. "Thank you very much." The capacity crowd has listened attentively and responded with the chanting of Hare Krishna. Now Vishnujana begins his kirtan, sitting behind the harmonium. His voice is obviously hoarse when he beckons everyone, "If you're tired, take prasadam." He continues chanting, on and on. The kirtan is so melodic and mystical, it just sweeps everyone away. Occasionally, he exclaims blissfully, "Go on, taste the love." The whole auditorium is filled with devotees and hippies chanting and dancing together, absorbed in their reverie.
Danavir: Vishnujana led a four-hour kirtan, just straight, no stopping. It was an amazing kirtan with amplified harmonium. The hippies were completely into it. They would dance and then go take prasadam. Some of them would crash out because a lot of them were on drugs. So there would be a whole bunch of people crashed out. Then they would get up again and chant and dance. That went on for four hours. One of the most memorable parts of the festival for me was meeting Jayananda. He was a transcendental John Wayne, big, strong, and friendly. He was marvelous. I asked him a question: "How do you become happy?" "I don't know," he innocently replied. "I'm too busy to think about it." But he was always blissful and active, working tirelessly, and he inspired others to do the same.
Riktananda: The leaders had forgotten to assign a clean-up detail for the outside grounds, and Vishnujana agreed to lead a contingent of devotees to police a good quarter-mile of cold, windswept beachfront of discarded prasadam plates, cups, spoons, and napkins. He remained behind long, long after every other ISKCON leader had retired to the Berkeley or San Francisco temple, making absolutely certain that all the trash and it was considerable, because I was part of the clean-up crew was stuffed in a garbage dumpster. This was leadership as I have rarely witnessed it in our Society's history.
The next morning everybody gets ready to return home. Although the festival had started on an ominous note, it had ended with a wonderful Vaikuntha atmosphere. Everyone agrees it was well worth the effort. Many friendships have been made, and many promises to return next year. Ratha-yatra of 1970 is the biggest festival that ISKCON has produced since its inception four years ago. Big things are brewing in Prabhupada's mind. He was feeling uneasy at Ratha-yatra, as he had admitted in his address at the Family Dog. "I am not feeling very well to come here, but because I have come to San Francisco, I must give you the message." The festival could easily have been ruined had it not been saved by Vishnujana's glorious chanting of the Holy Name. Srila Prabhupada has been disturbed due to a series of mishaps over the past several months. Taking each discrepancy on an individual basis, one might simply see a lack of attention to detail. But judging the events as a whole, these signs are an ominous indication that something is seriously amiss.