In case you havent seen it yet, it is called an Open Letter to Australian School of Meditation because that is exactly what it is.

[board.culteducation.com]

I figured anyone interested would see it and not waste a post on it but apparently it is concern to the troll patrol/cult in the making that used to own this thread.

I dont care what anyone thinks of me, that is the luxury of knowing that you have worked your arse off for a year with support that gradually just wandered away to get on with their lives but still found the time to bitch at me for not doing more. Hey if it is not a cause that is worth fighting for then I am certainly not hurting anyone by temporarily taking the site down. I live with my life being hurt and dysfunctional, at least if someone else doesnt like it they have the opportunity to walk away from it.

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veggiechipssuck
I hear that people from a couple of the groups on gold coast are secretly planning to oust chris buttler as the guru i was told some young guy running one of chris's so called charity business's is heading up the new group.

can anymore shed more veggie peel on this ?

I dont think that there is any secret that on the Gold Coast there is a family that runs everything and they may or may not do so according to what Siddha wants. I have heard of long time disciples being banned for things that I have personally seen being done there. The line I got from Jeannie Bishop when I mentioned to her quite a while ago was "I have trouble believing that" which is standard response to anything that devotees dont WANT to believe. Chris Butler has been in KC since he was a teenager, he has no concept of reality whatsoever, you can see in how he speaks and writes. It is not possible to live the life he has and have any idea whatsoever, definitely a Mr Burns situation.

Same thing happened with ACB with his disciples new to the organisation and left in charge without any supervision or concern they might be doing the wrong thing or molesting the children, far surpassed his ability and used the resources available to them through the faith to suit themselves.

The fifity somethings will take them over, but certainly the thirty-somethings are being groomed to be their underlings so that they get their time in the sun for all the years they have put into service.

cultreporter:

Why take down a Web site?

The site can remain static without requiring any work.

Why not just leave it up, but do nothing new?

Basically RR my goal is to be productive.

Those that can possibly change anything do not want the site up because they want exclusive rights in conjunction with the launch of a new site and those that could be involved as former members choose not to be. The site has had consistent difficulties staying up for various tech reasons that arise from being on a fringe server and I have not been able to organise or pay for a dedicated sustainable host.

I dont particularly want to discuss the options that have come up on my side that appear to be better decisions strategically and personally, particularly here which while it is a supportive environment is also unmistakenly hostile.

cultreporter:

Keeping up a Web site such as the one you have described is most often very inexpensive, perhaps a few dollars per month, probably less than $20.00.

But that's your decision to make.

This forum is not a "hostile" environment.

It has rules regarding flaming, harassment, etc. and allows members to remain anonymous.

It does seem though that the SoI thread has had quite a few trolls.

Cultreporter, I would also like to ask you to keep www.cultofbutler.com up.

There is a lot of good and useful information on the site.

I just checked and the website is down.

I've been emailing and posting a lot lately and often include a link to www.cultofbutler.com

This cult and its reclusive guru have an interesting story. Somehow, it has flown under the radar of the mainstream press, mainstream business and religious press and TV/Video/Film media and book authors and scholars (except for Rick Ross) for more than 20 years.

I think there's a big story here. A hippie surfer/druggie guru who sets up large and successful businesses. The guru and his group have political ambitions and an agenda. His wife has a PBS-TV yoga program that is distributed by KCSM-TV in San Mateo, CA.

The guru has devotees around the world.

The guru makes no public appearances and no public statements, at least over the last decade or so, and still seems to attract devotees.

It seems to me that there could be a book about this, perhaps several. There could be a PBS-TV documentary and a "60 Minutes" segment. Why not a documentary film? Magazine articles in Harpers, Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair.

It certainly would help to have professional writers, researchers, reporters, investigators, authors and documentary makers looking into this. I suspect that there is some funny business going on.

Over a more than 20 year period, the guy and his devotees have formed a political party, which almost got some candidates elected to major offices in Hawaii. They've elected 5 devotees or affiliates to public office in Hawaii: Wayne Nishiki to the Maui City Council, Rick Reed to the Hawaii State Senate, Carol Gabbard to the Hawaii Board of Education, Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo to the Hawaii House of Representatives and Rick Reed aide Mike Gabbard to the Honolulu City Council and to the Hawaii State Senate.

Consistent issues on the political agenda for the group, over the past 20 years, include opposition to equal rights for lesbians and gays and opposition to reproductive rights, including abortion. Other issues are, or could include: opposition to water fluoridation, opposition to the the teaching of evolution in school and opposition to birth control and family planning, opposition to separation of church and state.

There are challenges: The story is complex. Every major player has at least two different names, their Hare Krishna name and their regular name. The religion is arcane.

Potential authors, researchers, documentary makers, etc should be aware of the success of the book [b:9a81133b06]"Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness and the Hare Krishnas,[/b:9a81133b06]" by John Hubner and Lindsey Gruber. I believe that this book was a best-seller.

(I did contact John Hubner about doing a follow-up to "Monkey on a Stick," including some information about Chris Butler and the Science of Identity Foundation. Unfortunately he does not seem to be interested.)

"Monkey on a Stick" is out of print, but should not be, since the whole Krishna Consciousnous movement is rising up out of all the scandals and they are recruiting again.

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rrmoderator
cultreporter:

Keeping up a Web site such as the one you have described is most often very inexpensive, perhaps a few dollars per month, probably less than $20.00.

But that's your decision to make.

This forum is not a "hostile" environment.

It has rules regarding flaming, harassment, etc. and allows members to remain anonymous.

It does seem though that the SoI thread has had quite a few trolls.

Terms of service for most web providers do not concern themselves with what fits the legal definition of defamation and can delete a site for any reason, you can rest assurred that SoI would make copious amounts of complaints to ensure that this happened.

I have been accussed of all sorts of things on this forum which I would constitute as flaming and harassment including an 'expose' by zelig and also having allegations put to me that were made to you via private email as if I am obligated to answer to people that do not have the guts to post or have been banned for whatever reason. The PM system here has been used to hound credible posters to fit a covert agenda. 99% of what goes on through here certainly does not happen on the thread. Considering why this thread started in the first instance it would seem that it has been trolled from day one.

As far as the site goes it will take about two days to know anything for certain.

cultreporter:

My experience with IPs is that many will not take a site down that easily.

Perhaps you need to find the right provider by checking around a bit more.

“Cultreporter”~
Alrighty then. You certainly have a right to make over your life and take down your creation and not give a damn about what anybody thinks. A lot of the content on your website was informative, poignant, and funny. Some was over the top, like the google map of the alleged cult compound/ farm in Australia with arrows pointing to the outhouse! We got a good laugh out of that. Other stuff was just way too tabloid for my taste.
Don’t take this as a personal attack, it’s just that the ideas you are expressing in the Open Letter seem to completely contradict all your RR posts, blogs, and website for the last year, so it is puzzling. (http://board.culteducation.com/viewtopic.php?t=8573&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=)

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Same thing happened with ACB with his disciples new to the organisation and left in charge without any supervision or concern they might be doing the wrong thing or molesting the children, far surpassed his ability and used the resources available to them through the faith to suit themselves.

Sure sounds like an apology for ACB’s Krishna group. If he was God’s best friend and such a “Paramahansa” pure devotee, he should have known all about the (well documented) sexual abuse and criminal activities going on in his schools and temples. He had a responsibility to supervise. He is no less culpable. You have even said this yourself many times. And some say that like Cardinal Mahoney(in the Catholic priest scandals), he was aware of the abuses and just moved the perpetrators around. You also use this (above quote) as an example to apologize for JG’s screwed up followers in Oz and what they did to you.

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I have recently spoken with a disciple of Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa who is associated with the ASM who has taken time to address my concerns and who has expressed his willingness to resolve the current situation with regard to the website (currently down) and its associated projects

I notice that you use the deferential form regarding Prabhufraud Chris Butler in your “Open Letter”. Something you never did before. What’s up with that!? This is how disciples address him.
How was the “current situation with regard to the website (currently down) and its associated projects” resolved!?
Not a productive way to go you wrote Rick. I’m sorry to have to point out the hypocrisy, but many of your posts flamed ex followers for not contributing enough to your “cause”, of “sitting on their arse”, not doing research, and on and on that you were the ONLY one effectively fighting the cult. This is very presumptuous of you. Nor are we to blame for your misery as if we could have stopped the cult before you were born. If any one of us had proof of criminal misconduct or were in a position to stop Prabhufraud from enjoying the fruits of other’s labors we would have done so years ago!
We also have a right to our own way of handling our experiences, disappointments, and memories in the cult.