Review of God, Gold and Guns / Stepping Away from ISKCON (RK)

Review of God, Gold and Guns:

Received a wonderful review of my latest book from a reader, Mr. P.R. in Atlanta, Georgia. Maybe I can hire him as my marketing consultant! He says:

This volume of the GGG decalogue is the one I've been waiting with enthusiasm and high anticipation. After 8 volumes of taking a deep dive into the history of New Vrindavan and the complex character that was Keith Ham, it's time for the reader to learn the details of his final demise and incarceration. The years spent reading, studying, and reflecting this history have led to this moment. It has felt like listening to a symphony and here comes the crescendo. 

This volume is riveting. It is full of the same twists, turns, contradictions, shameful crimes, and revelations that the rest of the volumes provide. However, this volume goes deeper as we learn that Keith Ham's ability to hide his crimes, vices, violations of the regulative principles, and corruption comes to an ignoble end. Thankfully for the community of New Vrindavan, his victims, and followers - accountability and justice paid this con-artist a much needed visit. 

It sent chills up and down my spine when Keith quotes Prabhupada when he said, “beware of demons dressed in Vaishnava cloth.” How prophetic … and unfortunate. In the end, this is probably one of the saddest chapters in the history of ISKCON. 

The reader is afforded a detailed account of what happened in court and how Keith’s lawyers mounted an unsuccessful defense. This insight proves useful to learn how this once thriving community imploded. While fascinating, it evokes a lot of other emotions as the community becomes fractured. Understandable that as more and more crimes committed by Keith were revealed, the community split into two bands – those who rejected this “show bottle guru” and those who refused to accept the reality of this extremely flawed and thoroughly corrupt human being. 

There were many whose need for security and spirituality would not allow them to accept the truth of the matter. This is an invitation to reflect on the psychology of cognitive dissonance and how we, as humans, respond to it at various levels. I was humored by Keith’s convenient excuse that his being charged was nothing more than religious persecution. What a joke of an excuse to hide behind his criminal enterprise and sexual abuse of children! 

It is encouraging to learn that where ISKCON failed this community, the legal system in this country did not.

I’ve always been impressed with the author’s meticulous research, attention to detail, and citation of sources to substantiate his work. Additionally, by presenting differing opinions on the issues of those days provides a balanced understanding to create a more accurate picture of all that transpired. Through this, the author achieves a remarkable account that is all inclusive. 

There is a higher purpose in documenting this history; to present this history as a tool for healing those that lived it. In my own healing journey, learning facts about the past has led to epiphanies, new perspectives, and a healing of what was otherwise a traumatic experience. Facts and knowledge have a powerful effect to humanize difficult experiences. I still feel this is the single greatest contribution of this author. For him and the work contained in this and the rest of the volumes, I am grateful.

[PADA: Yep, Ravindra Swarupa said -- ISKCON needs to make it's own history web site or else, the history of ISKCON will be recorded by others -- and they may not make a favorable presentation. OK well ISKCON did not make a history web site -- and others are making their own history version for them -- includes us at PADA -- and it doesn't look favorable to the GBC guru system. 

The point many people are starting to realize now is -- the GBC and probably the larger mass of ISKCON devotees -- knew all along that Kirtanananda is not a pure devotee, but they allowed all this to happen in the name of "making a big program for Krishna." 

So they sacrificed integrity, common sense and even morality in favor of making a big show bottle program, that was flawed on its foundations from square one because -- Kirtanananda was never a pure devotee. 

Some one else said, it is for the same reasons the directors of the cigarette company never go out and complain about the dangers of cigarettes, they have a vested interest in keeping the show going. Indeed, they are dependent on the bogus show going on to preserve their own positions in the show.

Someone else submitted "this was a fairy tale movie with Rasputin as the star actor." Hee hee, well yup. And Rasputin had lots of other fairy wanna-bes dancing around as his co-stars, OK like for example Ravindra swarupa and his eternal helpmate Satsvarupa. The history is sad, but it is what it is. 

ys pd angel108b@yahoo.com]

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RK: How do we know that Kadamba kanana got cancer from taking Karma. Are we on such a position to see It? Cancer is pretty common. In this case how should we be so sure? May this soul find it's way back to Goloka.

This is all I want to say in this matter and I don't think there's need for anything else to be said.

PADA: Srila Prabhupada is the person who says we cannot take karma -- or we will have to suffer. How do we know we will have to suffer? Because the acharya says so, either this life or the next. He also says people who imitate the acharya will eventually become degraded. OK, this life or the next, they degrade.

Most of these gurus got sick, fell down, or departed prematurely. There is a pattern here. Yes, we are in a position to cite the acharya, any neophyte who takes karma will have to suffer. And they are. 

Srila Prabhupada also says -- when an unqualified person artificially takes the post of diksha guru / i.e. he takes karma without authority, he may take birth as a snake, the disciples take birth as ants, and the guru is eaten by the ants. How do we know this does not end well? The acharya says it will not end well. 

We cannot violate the orders of Krishna and then pray for Krishna to fix the mess we made, that is not how the process works. If the acharya says it is not authorized for neophytes to take karma, then we are authorized to quote what he says. My Mormon nurse friend also is astonished at all the Krishna devotees getting cancer, she says -- it is an epidemic. Yes, she is an end of life care expert, she is in a position to speak on this topic. She says something is terribly off here, and -- it is. ys pd

RK: This is very nice. Thank you for enlightening me. I saw this comment on another page and thought it really summed up Iskcon, and the reason we have so much abuse. It’s also exactly what I saw.

I recently worked out I had been in the movement around 17 1/2 years before stepping away, and have now been practicing outside for about the same amount of time, as of 2023. It was around this time in January of 88 I ‘became a Hare Krishna.’ My reflection is the institution can turn good people into jerks, who then go on to say and do things they may have never once said or done.

It makes otherwise intelligent people bow on the ground and give over all their power to some man they know nothing about other than the persona he projects from his saffron wrappings.

It makes people feel guilty, shameful, passive / aggressive and neurotic. Makes them believe feelings of love and kindness are for hippies, and that if you’re being mistreated or abused and you object, that you’re just being mental, it’s just your false ego, and that you need to learn tolerance. Conversely you’re trained that if you speak up against corruption or question the leaders you’re suddenly an offender in the eyes of God, and cruel punishment awaits you.

It elevates an unqualified but ambitious few to the topmost positions of God’s, lazing in the lap of luxury and service, (taking not giving) while keeping everyone else subjugated under the boot, with time, energy, money and daughters taken as tithes.

It teaches monastic life to young men, training them to be pujaris or book distributors, only to then kick them to the street when they want to get married, because maintaining families is a big burden for the saffron elites. The monks feel themselves fallen, having failed to maintain their brahmacaria, while the grhasta asrama seen as a dangerous black well meant for Losers. The visiting Swamis confirm this notion as they emasculate ‘the Men in White’. Then again the much highly placed "men in saffron" are sometimes having sex with various others, sometimes even children.

With their best years for study or obtaining employment or starting business behind them, husband and wife then begin married life with nothing, an empty apartment and few if any transferable skills, while the Sannyasi’s and gurus they served may have several palatial residences, nice fancy cars, computers, servants and over all luxury lifestyles. 

The newlyweds are wracked with shame and guilt that they might want to have a sensual or even affectionate relationship, and their lives are shaped and influenced by the institutional temple model they desperately try to emulate in the home. This may lead to a cold and heartless marriage that does not produce happy wives, or happy children, but a sort of regimented military grade institutional forced situation with no real affection. And the family unit suffers, and especially the children suffer the most because they have greater needs for affection.

Their personal, individual relationship with Krishna or Srimati Radharani and with the world, each other, and ultimately their true selves might be drowned out by the wail of institutionalised thinking, obscured or funnelled by rules and regs, shortcomings and status in the devotee community, and almost robot like they rise and begin their daily worship, steeling themselves against a wicked world and their own malicious minds and senses, cursing malfunctioning washing machines or spannering outdated cars.

In time they begin to look stressed and strained, and perhaps out of desperation finally reject the practices entirely, turning their backs on Krishna who they see as a demanding, relentless God, as they strive to break free of the brainwashing and mind control of institutional thinking and find normality in non-church activities.
Meanwhile Srila Prabhupada kindly tells us the process of KC is joyfully performed, that we can simply make our home a temple, earn independently, spend independently, that even our dog can take part, that there’s no need to wear dhoti or eat Indian food if it’s not something we want to do, and we are free to embrace the regulative principles when we’re ready, while still having the deity of Krishna in our home and chanting Hare Krishna with family and friends.

[PADA: Pretty good analysis. ys pd]