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Ian Koviak
Crazy development here with all of this. Hopefully the end-days for SIF and many other money hungry, attention greedy, self righteous, bigoted, duplistic, hypocritical and downright scary cults within the Hare Krishna umbrella. Amazing work and proactiveness from all of you. The air is less incense-laden out here. Breath deep.
I finished watching the Bernie Maddoff movie with Richard Dreyfus. As you know, Madoff "made off" with other people's money by promising formidably higher returns than the banks or investment companies. What he did was park billions of other people's money in his own bank account without investing in the market. He sent fake statements to his investors making it appear as if they were getting richer. He fooled them for years. He even passed an audit with the authorities. He finally got busted by a persistent math and research geek (like our friends Flash, Vox, Rama, etc) and a brave journalist. At first the press did not believe Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme. It turns out, he stole more money than any thief in the history of the world.
In my opinion, Madoff has a lot of similarities to Butler. The only difference is that Butler is running a "spiritual" Ponzi scheme. (Okay, let's not forget some of the "real world" scams with which he is also allegedly involved). I'm focusing here on his guru scam. You invest in him with your money and labor and are promised a high rate of return in the form a place at the feet of guru and Krishna in the spiritual world. Butler promises higher returns than any other spiritual path. He makes fake statements to his followers and people have been fooled for years. In the end, he appears to be just another thief and liar. He can never deliver on his promises. He is banking both your material and spiritual life away for his own, selfish benefit. Not only that, he is depriving your children and grand children of any real legacy or freedom.
All of Madoff's investors were made to feel special and exclusive. He gave out extravagant gifts and bought people. Butler does the same thing. His inner circle is made to feel superior to the rest of humanity. He shares his wealth and influence with them. When people asked Madoff how was he able to bat impossibly high rates of return, all he said was that he knows the market and is a "Magician". Similarly, Butler claims to know g0d and implies he is infallible and mystically empowered.
Madoff's own sons turned their father in to the authorities (presumably to save their own asses and assets). Butler's "spiritual" children are finally waking up and exposing him.
Madoff knew he was a con man and had fellow crooks assisting him. He had an addiction to money, power, and adulation. He came up with crazy ideas to rationalize his scam. He only felt remorse for his family and not the majority of the Jewish clients whose lives he ruined. Most are still waiting for their money. They will never see a dime. One son committed suicide and the other died of cancer. Butler knows he is a fake and has fellow fakers assisting him. He has an addiction to money, power, and adulation. He comes up with crazy ideas to rationalize his scam. The difference is that Butler's "spiritual" payoff is impossible to prove. His followers are in a trap where they have to lie to themselves about their "bliss" or appear spiritually deficient. Madoff's clients had the protection of the law. Who looks out for religious promises and returns?
As Ian suggested, the clouds of incense are dispersing and Butler is getting exposed. If one is still in the cult, there are ways to test his infallibility. Better check your spiritual retirement plans kids.