ISKCON’s Charlie Chaplin Myth—and the Truth About Max Linder

Over the years I have heard countless stories in ISKCON about how Srila Prabhupada loved Charlie Chaplin. ISKCON guru Satsvarupa Das Goswami once even went so far as to call Charlie Chaplin as a representation of Lord Krishna: “In the Tenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna shows how anything great comes from Him, so of humorists, Krishna is Charlie Chaplin.”

Many other ISKCON leaders and gurus repeat these stories, and you can find some recorded in past Vyasa Puja offerings to Srila Prabhupada. One ISKCON guru has even written a chapter titled “Srila Prabhupäda and Charlie Chaplin” in one of his books.

As widespread as this concept is, it may come as a surprise that it is at least partly based on a misunderstanding. There was a silent film Srila Prabhupada watched as a child which he sometimes spoke about. In that film a comedian accidentally tears his coat tails, and then pretends it was intentional so as to not be embarrassed. This was actually a film by Max Linder (picture attached), a French silent film comedian of the early 1900s.

In fact Srila Prabhupada in various conversations specifies several times that was who the comedian he saw as a child was. For example:

“Long ago, when we were boys, we saw one comic cinema. That old cinema player was… His name was Max Linder. Max Linder. So this Max Linder was going to a ball dance, and he was waiting in the park, and the ball dance coat, you know? It has got a tail. So he was sitting in a bench, and some naughty boys came and they, what is called, nailed the tailing part. So when he got up it became torn, like… So his…, this hip was visible. So when was dancing in the ball, others were seeing his, “What is this?” [laughter] So he went to the mirror, he saw, “Oh?” So he began to dance and show everyone like this. So others said, “What is this?” “This is the latest fashion. This is the latest fashion in ball dancing.” “Oh?” Then all cut their tail coat. You see? “The latest fashion.” – Srila Prabhupada (June 7th, 1975)

Another refrerence Srila Prabhupada makes to this film is as follows:

“Similarly, I saw one cinema in my childhood, a similar story. One Mr. Maxlin [Max Linder] or something like that, he played that. He was sitting in a park, and some naughty boy nailed his tail, that tail coat, when ball dancing. So when he got up, that half part of that tail was taken away. So when he was dancing in the ball, everyone is looking to his back side: “What is this? His tail is cut.” So he saw in the mirror that “My tail is cut.” So he began to dance more nicely, and everyone asking, “What is…?” “Oh, this is the latest fashion.” “This is the latest fashion.” So everyone began to cut his tail. You see?” – Srila Prabhupada lecture (December 5, 1966)

Later Satsvarupa added this story to the official biography of Srila Prabhupada, but said it was a Charlie Chaplin film, which was not true: “In his youth, he had once seen a movie of Charlie Chaplin. The setting was a formal ball held outdoors…” (From Srila Prabhupada Lilamrita)

Once in print, this simply became a “fact” within ISKCON circles, and has been passed on again and again, to the point of some gurus saying that Charlie Chaplin represented Krishna. How absurd is that? Shouldn’t we instead be giving proper credit and saying Max Linder represented Lord Krishna? I am being sarcastic of course.

As far as Max Linder, most people probably have never heard of him because he did not have a good ending. In 1925, at the age of 41, he allegedly murdered his wife and committed suicide by injecting morphine and cutting both of their wrists. Definitely not a representation of Lord Krishna, even if he had a couple famous comedy films in his younger life which Srila Prabhupada appreciated comedically. In that sense I can understand why some authors would prefer to use the name Charlie Chaplin instead of Max Linder in their versions of the stories.

You can hardly find any recorded conversation where Srila Prabhupada mentions Charlie Chaplin. There is only one conversation in the Vedabase, and he is brought up by some other devotees who had just watched a Charlie Chaplin film with Srila Prabhupada the night before. In that conversation Srila Prabhupada appreciates Charlie Chaplin but interestingly changes the topic to Max Linder. Here is that conversation, the only recorded conversation where Srila Prabhupada mentions Charlie Chaplin (recorded August 1, 1972).

Prabhupada: Pradyumna… Nanda-kumara was sleeping.

Syamasundara: Charlie Chaplin kept us up all night.

Prabhupada: Hmm.

Syamasundara: Charlie Chaplin kept us up all night. [laughs] Charlie Chaplin film.

Prabhupada: Hmm. That was nice. [laughter] He is really funny man. [laughs] He has got originality. All his comic play has got some originality. That is the beauty. How he invented! [laughs] I think that character, when he was a drunkard, he’s a great friend. [laughs] When he’s not drunkard, “Who is this man?” [laughs] He’s grave, as rich man. And as drunkard, “You’ll pay him. You are my friend, life-long friend. Whatever you want, you take.” [laughs] So these characters he’s painting, it’s very good intelligence. And he made him friend when he was going to commit suicide.

Syamasundara: Yeah, he stopped him.

Prabhupada: He stopped him. Accidentally he stopped. [laughs] Not willingly.

Syamasundara: Yes. He tried to pull him up from the water, and he went in himself. [laughing]

Prabhupada: It is very nice, funny man, with intelligence. And before him there was another, Mr. Max Linder.

Syamasundara: Max Linder.

Prabhupada: Yes. He was also very funny Englishman. In our childhood we used to enjoy their play, Max Linder and Chaplin, ah, Charlie Chaplin.

Hamsaduta: They were showing them in India?

Prabhupada: Uh? Yes. Max Linder, I remember, he was sitting in a park. [laughter] You know?

Revatinandana: No. I don’t know anything about it.

Prabhupada: He was sitting in a park, so that English dress, that tail coat? What is called?

Syamasundara: Coattails, yeah.

Prabhupada: So the tail was hanging, so some naughty boy, they fixed up nails, you see? So when he got up, the whole tail gone, you see? But he could not understand. He went to the ball dance. So he was dancing, so everyone’s seeing to his tail, in this way. So he thought, “What is the matter?” He went to the mirror and he saw, “Oh, my tail is lost.” [laughs] Then he came again in the ball dance and he was pushing everyone, just to show. And everyone asking, “What is this? What is this?” “Oh, you do not know? This is latest fashion. This is latest fashion.” Then all of them cut the tails. I think he had taken the idea, languli-hina srgala [Hitopadesa]. This is Sanskrit story, that languli-hina srgala, or monkey, he lost his tail, and he began to advertise, “This is the latest fashion.” So that ball-dancing without tail, that was, I remember, it is very laughing. They say that Charlie Chaplin is the student of Max Linder. He learned this funny play from Max Linder. So I knew Charlie Chaplin is a Englishman.

Hamsaduta: Yes, he is.

Prabhupada: He is Englishman.

Hamsaduta: He went to America and then he made all these films.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Hamsaduta: He went to America and he made a lot of money there.

Indian man: As far as I know, Prabhupada, he was Jew, but he used to live in east of London, or south of London. There is an autobiography about it.

Prabhupada: Max Linder, ah, Charlie Chaplin? Yes. He was a London man.

Syamasundara: But that movie was filmed in Los Angeles, the one we saw last night. In Hollywood. All the palm trees and the mountains behind.

Indian man: One of his elder sons, he’s still living in Hampstead Heath. He has got the house in Hampstead Heath.

Prabhupada: Oh, his eldest son. And where he is, Charlie Chaplin?

Devotee: In America.

Prabhupada: In America?

Devotee: He’s lives in Switzerland.

Indian man: No, no, he lives in the Europe somewhere. Switzerland, most… Sometimes coming in Hampstead Heath.

Devotee: Geneva. I think Geneva.

Prabhupada: He has got big family?

Hamsaduta: Yes.

Prabhupada: You said that he’s producing still child?

Hamsaduta: Yeah, he produced last year, or two years ago.

Indian man: He married again.

Hamsaduta: It was in Life magazine.

Prabhupada: Hmm. [pause]

Hamsaduta: It’s already about 10:30.

Prabhupada: All right.

Devotees: Jaya. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. [devotees leave]

That’s the only recorded conversation of Srila Prabhupada about Charlie Chaplin, and he does appreciate his comedy, but he also brings up the original comedian, Max Linder, who was in the famously cited story.

The real question is if Charlie Chaplin is an avatara or vibhuti of Lord Krishna as propounded by some ISKCON gurus, or is that just a bizarre reaction some young devotees created when they found out Srila Prabhupada appreciated silent films as a child? Which specific comedians qualify to be representations of Lord Krishna? How about the Three Stooges, Chevy Chase or Steve Martin? Are they incarnations of Lord Krishna or is it only limited to silent film comedians?

And more importantly, how would Srila Prabhupada react today if he saw his followers incorrectly saying “among humorists Lord Krishna is Charlie Chaplin”, when everyone should know that among humorists Lord Krishna is actually Max Linder?

To some people details are not important, and you can say anything even if its not actually true, even interspersed in Bhagavad Gita lectures and in religious biographies. But to me details mean something, and stories should not be twisted or repeated inaccurately, because it can lead to a cult like fairy tale being created, which will perpetuate for generations despite not being based on truth.

Therefore I propose we must bring ISKCON back to following Srila Prabhupada by promoting Max Linder as the true representation of Lord Krishna instead of Charlie Chaplin. If they can edit Srila Prabhupada’s books to make them “closer to the originals” we can surely declare Max Linder to be the more accurate incarnation of Lord Krishna among humorists. Thank you for attending my Ted talk.

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