Just one victim impact statement to the ISKCON CPO, from my friend, could result in Bhavananda losing his position with ISKCON high leadership in Mayapura. He is being presently treated like a celebrity there, Bhavananda is. But my friend is not willing to go on the record, and part of the reason for this is that he is scared of potential repercussions against himself and his family, his kids.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

RUN_FOREST_RUN Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You should see if he wants to contribute to the > cult testimonials book. It's completely anonymous > and he can make a difference to a lot of folks > both in and out of the hare krishna groups. I did. He's not willing to go on the record with anything or anyone.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

RUN_FOREST_RUN Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That's terrific, XKRISHNA! Very brave of you to > take LSD with a broken brother. I'd have myself an > unforgettable panic attack and stop loving > anything or anyone altogether! It's great to find > a deep connection with others, for most it never > happens. > > RUN.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

FORREST, I guess that I am used to being around severely traumatized people and I know how to handle those kinds of situations. I used to be friends with the ex-wife and a couple of the children of Lonnie Davis, aka "Marc," of the Family International. I used to be friends with "Lydia West." Google those names. These people had lived at what was called the Jumbo, in the Ph
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

RUN_FOREST_RUN Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That's terrific, XKRISHNA! Very brave of you to > take LSD with a broken brother. I'd have myself an > unforgettable panic attack and stop loving > anything or anyone altogether! It's great to find > a deep connection with others, for most it never > happens. Well, I am a &qu
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thank you for all this, FORREST. I will study it out. And by the way: my friend, the man I tripped with yesterday, knew nothing of Chris Butler and SIF until I told him about it. He was rather surprised to learn that there's this ISKCON spinoff cult in Hawaii which is led by this guy named Chris Butler, and he was totally ignorant of all that history. The reason it came up (SIF and B
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thank you for this. But why does the SIF wiki page say that SIF was founded while PRabhupada was still living, please?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

FORREST, I just thought of something. Prabhupada passed away in late 1977. My understanding was that Chris Butler founded SIF in 1978, after Prabhupada passed away. But when you look at SIF's Wikipedia entry, it says that SIF was founded in April of 1977. Prabhupada was still alive in April of 1977, so how could this be? And how could Living Force, associated with Butler and SIF, have
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Wow, this is really good. Thx for pointing me this way, FORREST. Tell me please: was Living Force exclusively made up of former ISKCON devotees, or were they with Butler already, so to speak, when he joined ISKCON in 1970? Were they already involved with ISKCON in 1970, or what? See what I mean? How did Living Force come to leave ISKCON and go with Chris Butler? And how DID Butler e
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Just FYI, for historical reference. They made this music at Murari Sevaka, in Tennessee, in the late seventies and early eighties. They're a pretty obscure Hare Krishna band. :-) Listen to those lyrics!
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It was awesome, man. We saw the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory. He turned me on to this tripped out Hare Krishna devotee band called Murari, or Murari Band. We took acid together and listened to the Krishna conscious equivalent of Jesus Freak music. It was great. Murari, or Murari Band.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

XKRISHNA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > PS: I've never asked him, but I get the impression > that he is Christian today. I've seen a Bible, > and certain Christian paraphernalia in his > apartment. I've heard him talk about God in > general and respectful terms. So he's not an > atheist, and he looks like a Christi
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

XKRISHNA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Really, FORREST, I see ISKCON as the Watchtower > Bible and Tract Society, of the Hindu world. They > are the equivalent of the Jehovah's Witnesses, to > that cultural context. I mean, both see > themselves as theocratic organizations and both > place a heavy emphasis on book and literatur
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Windle Turley (Google that name) was asked to compare the abuse and the response by the Krishnas and the Catholics. He said, "The Hare Krishnas are far more vicious in what happened to the children. The Roman Catholics are far more sophisticated in handling litigation, and no one is as good at concealment as the Catholics.”
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

RUN_FOREST_RUN Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That's funny. From hippie cult to yuppie Indian > Hindus. Sounds about right. One could not have > asked for a more successful outcome for ISKCON. > It's here to stay. Really, FORREST, I see ISKCON as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, of the Hindu world. They are the equivalent of
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

That's why I laugh when I read things here about how the Hare Krsnas are trying to "recruit" the kids off the streets of major cities in North America, as if we are living fifty years in the past. Recruit them to what? Becoming repeat customers at the temple restaurants? Being donors to the planetarium? For the most part there's nothing to recruit anybody TO, at least not anym
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Where I live, ISKCON is more of a Hindu cult which has made a lot of inroads into the Indian immigrant community. They are openly referring to themselves as Hindus now, and they have been for years. I've been told that one out of every three Indian immigrants to the United States lives in Texas (where I am) and I can believe it. So we see, in the case of ISKCON in Texas, a sort of "H
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If you ask me, this is transcendental music too. It IS a mantra, of sorts. :-) "As I was walkin' 'round Grosvenor Square Not a chill to the Winter but a nip to the air From the other direction, she was calling my eye It could be an illusion, but I might as well try, might as well try She had rings on her fingers and bells on her shoes And I knew, without askin', she
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

That song IS a type of prayer, if you ask me.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This shit is intense, man, and it's starting to freak me out a little bit. Let's fire one up and turn on some Grateful Dead, shall we? "The wheel is turning and you can't slow down, You can't let go and you can't hold on, You can't go back and you can't stand still, If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will. Won't you try just a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

PS: I've never asked him, but I get the impression that he is Christian today. I've seen a Bible, and certain Christian paraphernalia in his apartment. I've heard him talk about God in general and respectful terms. So he's not an atheist, and he looks like a Christian to me. But definitely not an atheist. I think that for him (like for me frankly) his theism is what
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Remember: this is one of Prabhupada's "Vaikuntha children" who we are talking about. His mom left ISKCON in the 1980s, and took him with her. So he's been on the fringes of ISKCON ever since. His mother has been dead for several years but I am told that she spent her last years homeless and asking strangers on the streets for spare change. A female Prabhupada disciple,
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Another thing, FORREST: I've asked this man if he would be willing to be interviewed by myself, about his gurukula experiences as a youth. I've also asked him if he'd be willing to be interviewed by somebody else in our network of persons who are pushing for institutional improvement and positive change, if he would not be interviewed by myself. I've told him about the book
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

PS: that's a good point, FORREST, that you make about how some ISKCON Swami ought to donate a kidney to this man. But I will not hold my breath for that to happen. This man has very few living relatives, and his mother (a Prabhupada disciple) passed away several years ago. I've made this appeal to present-day devotees and ex-members alike. We'll see if somebody steps up. You a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The man I am trying to help find a kidney, was a hardcore IV drug user and alcoholic who was forced to get sober after having three strokes in years(between 2018 and 2023). I met him through ex-member and second-gen Facebook circles. Today he walks with a cane and speaks with some impediment, though he is cognizant and lucid. If you met him, you would think he is about twenty years older than
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Very frankly, I think to call what these gurukula kids suffered "abuse" is accurate, but it's also a gross understatement. I think it'd be more accurate to state that these kids were TORTURED in various ways. Here's an example. I was told that these kids, toddlers, people under six years of age, were sometimes made to get inside of a large trash can and then the trash
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I know a man, a second-generation Hare Krishna man, an original Dallas gurukula survivor who was severely abused there as a child (tortured, really), who needs a kidney and whose health could be restored and whose life could be extended if he can find a willing donor. I tried to donate to this man myself, but I was refused on the grounds that I have hypertension for which
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

You know, Malcolm, I know a man, a second-gen Hare Krishna man, who needs a kidney at this time. And I was tempted to refer him to the McKay group to that end, but I decided not to refer this man to somebody who is under the McKays' influence. I thought about referring this man to "the kidney cult" but I just can't; it would be absurd for me to do so. You may ask why I myse
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

private eyes: if you are reading this, then please, please PLEASE send me a private message. Thank you. :-)
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Malcolm Wesley WREST Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I arrived in Tallangatta (Northern Victoria) on > Christmas Day, 1981 and left at the conclusion of > the walk across the Nullarbor in mid 1985 (at that > point the group were situated in Sydney ... Aha, thank you. And you are saying that you yourself have never been contacted by, much less
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"