u/Solomon_Kane_1928

ISKCON promotes itself as a Vedic movement. It is supposedly devoted to teaching the Vedas and spreading Vedic culture. In truth ISKCON is almost entirely Tantric.

This can be seen in its rituals, mantras, and philosophy. ISKCON's Tantric roots are most clearly seen in its worship of the guru. I would argue that 50% of ISKCON's religion and culture is based around absolute submission to the guru. Krishna is almost a footnote to Prabhupada.

The Vedic Guru

During the Vedic Period (1500 BCE - 500 BCE) the guru was simply a teacher. Young men came and lived at his home, alongside the guru's wife and children. They learned reading and writing, memorized texts, and mastered rituals. In exchange the disciples offered respect and service, and upon graduating; a donation. After completing his eductation, the Snataka left to pursue his own life. The guru was not an absolute ruler over the disciple. Nor was the guru considered perfect.

The Tantric Guru

During the Tantric Period (500 CE - 1500 CE) this changed due to a combination of new and secretive religious practices, coinciding with socio-economic collapse.

Tantric practices were considered a fast track in spiritual life. They were considered dangerous, or as Prabhupada would often say, "a razors edge". A guru was required to govern every aspect of the disciples journey, which encompassed his entire life.

The guru became the physical embodiment of the deity. This could be as the god directly, or as the representative of a god. The god spoke through him. His pronouncements were more important than scripture.

Initiation was not simply birth into a lineage. The guru dissolved one's past karma. He absorbed them and magically burned them with his consciousness. The disciple owned his entire spiritual reality to the guru.

The guru business was highly competitive. The so-called secret knowledge was monopolized and protected, just as a restaurant owner protects the recipe for his secret sauce. Only the guru could decode the secret teachings, and initiate one into secret mantras.

Any resistance to total submission was condemned as the path to hell. It was disrespectful and dangerous. Once accepted, one could never leave. The deity would destroy one's soul.

Only those willing to sacrifice their very existence to the whims of the master were accepted for initiation. A qualified disciple was one who would never question and never object. He would sacrifice his ego completely. If asked, he would give his life in an instant.

From the disciples perspective, this radical submission was assumed to open one up to the Tantric gurus shakti, his power. That power arose from his ability to channel the deity. In Medieval Vaishnavism this becomes krpa or mercy. The devotee sacrifices everything for it. He crawls like a dog, degrades and humiliates himself, he exposes himself to abuse, and begs for a drop of that divine shakti. (Krpa bindu diya)

The New Maharajas

During this time, the role of gurus shifted to mirror that of India's feudal lords. The gods were re-imagined as kings of their abodes. Their heavenly realms reflected earthly kingdoms. Gurus came to be worshiped as kings, emissaries of higher realms. They were serviced with yak tail fans, umbrellas, peacock feather whisks. Followers bowed down as slaves as they walked.

To complicate matters, during this period empires collapsed and society fractured. India fell into chaos. There was constant famine and endless war. People abandoned the cities to once again live as farmers and peasants. Upward mobility ceased. Society became uneducated, superstitious, agrarian, and narrow minded. This was a breeding ground for religious fanaticism.

These new Tantric kings stepped in to fill the void. Their closed fiefdoms recreated the security of better times. India yearned to return to the idealized golden age of the Gupta Empire. Like the emperors of days gone, gurus provided a sense of safety in exchange for absolute submission.

Just as the emperor was Gods representative on earth, so was the guru. The guru could command the very forces of nature. Tantric gurus possessed magical powers on top of worldly authority.

Medieval Vaishnavism

During the period of the Medieval Bhakti Traditions (600 CE - 1600 CE), within Vaishnava communities, the authority of the Tantric guru passed to Acharyas and Saints. The guru became the sole path to salvation, the "savior of the universe", the doorway to Vaikuntah.

The Vaishnava guru was the embodiment of Vishnu or Krishna on earth. To question him is to question God. The guru is the vizier of Vishnu, his prime minister, doing his will on Earth.

During this period gurus became as powerful as Zamindars, feudal lords, commanding great amounts of wealth and land, managing it, while commanding their followers and serfs, on behalf of the deity.

Modernization

The authority of these gurus traditionally resided in their lineage. They were carefully chosen and appointed as acharyas.

In the post colonial world, with the rise of globalism, and access to mass media such as book printing, the role of guru shifted from the barer of tradition to charismatic cult leader.

Followers were won through force of personality. We can see this transformation in ISKCON's own lineage. Bhaktivinode represents a rejection of tradition and a shift towards modernization. Bhaktisiddhanta was the proto-cult guru, confined to India. Bhaktivedanta became the world evangelizing charismatic cult leader.

Prabhupada as a Tantric Guru

In a recent post, I had mentioned a morning walk where Prabhupada attacks abortion. Just because a child is defenseless does not mean you can kill it.

He uses his own disciples as an example. He asks (paraphrasing) "just because my own disciples are defenseless, fully surrendered to me, does it mean I can kill them, will the police allow it?"

A disciples enthusiastically answers "Yes!".

The disciple is eager to show he will die for Prabhupada. They all were. They were competing over who would be more surrendered. This is what Prabhupada demanded. Disciples were expected to live without boundaries, without security, without protection, sacrificing themselves completely to the guru and his mission.

This mindset is foundational in ISKCON. This is how devotees lives are structured. The movement chews them up and spits them out. It takes everything and gives them nothing, while promising only access to shakti or mercy.

Supposedly, in exchange for this total surrender, Prabhupada will reward one with spiritual illumination. This is automatic spiritual advancement. If you wish to please Krishna, you must please Prabhupada. Prabhupada is most pleased when you street sell books. That is the key to tasting Krishna's grace.

In truth, even the chanting of mantras, the deity worship etc. only causes one to make spiritual advancement because Prabhuapada and his representatives are pleased. On their own they do nothing. You have no direct connection to Krishna. We are fallen mlecchas with no hope, no rights, and no inherent connection to God. We earn that connection only through submission.

This mindset is why ISKCON devotees gradually devolve into angry "Prabhuadanuga" fanatics. After decades of frustration, they become desperate. They believe their hopes lay in Prabhuapada alone. He is their Tantric master.

It is a common belief in ISKCON, and among modern Hindu Fundamentalists, that the supposed Vishnu Avatara Buddha is different than the Buddha of Buddhism, Gautama Siddhartha. They call the Vishnu Avatara Buddha, "Adi Buddha" and "Sugata Buddha".

This was taught by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakura. Prabhupada was a bit looser in his interpretation, generally identifying the Buddha Avatara with the Buddha of Buddhism, who came to "spread a false doctrine and bewilder the atheists".

Why Invent Two Buddhas?

The reason is simple. The Bhagavatam spreads false information and the fundamentalists cannot admit it has made a mistake.

When the Bhagavatam discusses the Buddha in SB 1.3.24 it says he is the son of Queen Anjana, born in Gaya.

This is flat wrong. His mother was Queen Maya. Her father was King Anjana. He was enlightened in Gaya, not born there.

The Bhagavatam was the product of a oral tradition that had incorrect information.

The Vaishnavas cannot admit the Bhagavatam is wrong. It is absolutely perfect and pure. So they invent a new Buddha to match the Bhagavatam.

Agni Purana

The Agni Purana comes from a more accurate oral tradition. It describes the Buddha as the "Son of Suddhodana" the true and accurate name of his father.

It further describes how the Buddha, one of the Vishnu Dashavatara, should be depicted:

śāntātmā lambakarṇaśca gaurāṅgaścāmbarāvṛtaḥ |
ūrdhvapadmasthito buddho varadābhayadāyakaḥ 

“The figure of Buddha (buddho) should be made calm-souled (śāntātmā), with long ears (lambakarṇa), a fair/golden complexion (gaurāṅga), covered in cloth (ambarāvṛtaḥ), sitting on an upward-facing lotus, granting boons and fearlessness.”

Agni Purāṇa (49.8)

That is to say, with traditional Buddhist iconography. Golden skin, long earlobes, sitting on a lotus, "granting boons and fearlessness" refers to the abhaya mudra. This can be seen in the images above. Notice the Vaishnava tilak on the Buddha statue LOL. The Buddha explicitly cast aside all such sectarian beliefs and identifications, what to speak of wearing them on his forehead.

"Sugata Buddha"

It is common nowadays to hear this so-called original Vishnu Buddha being called "Sugata Buddha". This has come from Vaishnavism.

The Amarkosha dictionary, written by a Buddhist, gives a list of names of the Buddha. These are divided into two categories. One groups refers to his clan lineage with names such as Sakyasimha, Saddhodani, Gautama, and Mayadevisuta. Another group refers to his general personal titles such as Sarvajna, Sugata, Buddha, Dharmaraja and Tathagata.

Sugata is a common epithet of the Buddha meaning "the one who has attained a good state".

The Vaishnavas like Bhaktisiddhanta erroniously claim these two name lists are referring to two different Buddhas, and the latter names refer to the original Vishnu Buddha.

This is all so absurd. In his Dashavatara Stotra, Jayadeva Goswami clearly referred to the Buddha of Buddhism who decried animal sacrifice (nindasi yajna-vidher ahaha sruti-jatam).

Conclusion

The Vaishnava Acharyas invented a second "original" Buddha, because the Bhagavatam presented wrong information. This fallacy has now spread beyond Gaudiya Vaishnava circles and into mainstream Hinduism, where it has been taken up by religious fundamentalists.

This is just another step in the perversion of Buddhism to serve the interests of Hinduism. First the Buddha was hijacked to claim the Buddhist values of vegetarianism and ahimsa were always Hindu and part of Brahminical purity culture. Now that he has served his purpose, the Buddha is cast aside to protect the illusion of scriptural infallibility.

In ISKCON we were taught that to leave the insular cult community is spiritual suicide.

If we hang out with karmis our spiritual creeper with explode into flames. We will become sinful degraded demons addicted to sensual pleasure, living empty useless lives, hypnotized by illusion, just as they are.

I have found the opposite to be true. Karmis have taught me a great deal. I have learned profound truths in their association.

Cowboy Country

Since leaving ISKCON I have had the good fortune to live high up in the mountains where it is very peaceful and beautiful.

My primary association is with real life cowboys. I rent a place on their property, which could be called a small ranch. They herd actual cattle in the mountains, taking them from one grazing spot to another in cattle trucks.

They herd them on horseback, eating cans of beans, sleeping under the stars, as cowboys have for centuries.

They also take people horseback riding on mountain trails and act as trail guides for hikers. In the summer they are fireman and chase fires around the state. On occasion up to five horses are grazing right outside my window at any time. There are also deer, turkeys, skunks, squirrels a cat and a dog.

Yes they eat meat and even (gasp) drink beer, but I have found them to be kind and honest. They are good people and good friends. They even invite me to go out herding with them.

Karmi Ratra

I recently went to a local community "festival" in a small town nearby. There were about five hundred people. One third were ranchers and blue collar rural people. One third were Native Americans, from a tribe that lives in the area. One third were bikers from out of town. There were three motorcycle clubs, including the Hell's Angels.

I hung out with them, engaging in what ISKCON would consider maya. I watched a lumberjack competition, ate some carnival treats, listened to music and watched kids play on rides. I spoke at length with people about the town and their ancestors. I befriended them and became part of their community, at least for a moment.

This would have been impossible when I first had left ISKCON. I would have been overwhelmed with social anxiety, shame, and fear I was "falling down". I would have felt the urge to convert them before they converted me.

Afterwords I felt a new strength within myself. It is hard to describe. Deep down inside they had lifted me up. They didn't judge me. They didn't have expectations or demands. There was no ideology. They were just good people having fun with their families. They welcomed me, and that was enough.

I could feel something refreshing in their association. It wasn't intense. It wasn't dramatic. It wasn't harmful. It was just people living life and sharing it with each other.

Another Prabhupada Gem

Westerners warned Prabhupada to not separate children from the parents. Prabhupada responds by threatening violence and condemning them to hell.

>Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: In the Western countries they criticize our gurukula, that "This is inhuman, people sending their children away at such an early age, not seeing them."

>Prabhupāda: And to kill, that is very human. Rascal. Kick them upon their face. You rascal, you are talking of morality, rascal, you go to hell. Your place is hell. "Devil citing scripture." You are not... You are so shameless that you do not be ashamed to speak like that. You are so shameless. Your civilization is so shameless.

Meanwhile, while he was saying this, the children sent to his gurukulas were being raped, starved, beaten and psychologically traumatized for life. Many would later commit suicide.

His arrogance is just off the charts. If he had listened to those evil Westerners instead of condemning them to hell, so much pain and suffering could have been avoided. But he is so self-righteous, he is thrown into a rage by the idea those inferior to him would dare instruct him.

Later in the Morning Walk, regarding abortion, he says:

>Prabhupāda: Then why you say that it is mother's right to kill? And tumor, can you bring life in tumor? Kick simply on their face, on their nose. That is the only thing to treat with such... Murkhasya latausadhiḥ[?]. Such fools in the society, they should be hanged. Misleading the whole population.

He truly believed violence was the ultimate solution. He goes on to describe how all of society are nothing but animals.

At the beginning of the Morning Walk, Prabhupada says "breaking the law is a sign of intelligence". He believed that scamming was a sign of being clever and superior.

Found this little gem.

Those filthy White European Mlecchas are the origin of venereal diseases. White women have sex with dogs. They gave humanity AIDs, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, etc.

The irony is you see statements like this from Hindutva fanatics online. "White women have sex with dogs" is a consistent theme of their bigoted attacks on Europeans.

Apparently this form of racist delusion is common in India and Prabhupada believed it. In that discussion he also talks about Mexicans having sex with donkeys and Argentinians having sex with a multitude of animals. Great stuff Swamiji.

Phiranga does indeed mean European. It is a loan word from Persian or Arabic meaning "Frank" as in the French. Indians used the word to refer to Syphilis, which was brought to India by Portuguese sailors. Though they themselves contracted it from the Native peoples of the Americas, not from European women having sex with dogs.

He also talks about how a devotee should become the "dog of a Vaishnava", i.e his dog. A disciple suggests a devotee should be even lower, a flea on Krishna's dog. Basically we are all lowly parasites riding Krishna's dog, Prabhupada.

Found this little gem.

Apparatus those filthy White European Mlecchas are the origin of venereal diseases. White women have sex with dogs that gave humanity AIDs, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, etc.

The irony is you see statements like this from Hindutva fanatics online. "White women have sex with dogs" is a consistent them of their bigoted attacks on Europeans.

Apparently this form of racist delusion is common in India and Prabhupada believed it. In that discussion he also talks about Mexicans having sex with donkeys and Argentinians having sex with a multitude of animals. Great stuff Swamiji.

Phiranga does indeed mean European. It is a loan word from Persian or Arabic meaning "Frank" as in the French. So these Ayurvedic texts were also racist.

He also talks about how a devotee should become the "dog of a Vaishnava", i.e his dog. A disciple suggests a devotee should be even lower, a flea on Krishna's dog. Basically we are all lowly parasites rising Krishna's dog, Prabhupada.

Video: A devotee has a dream a tree is in pain so he organizes a massage party.

Does anyone else feel stupid for worshiping rocks and trees?

As a devotee I was very devoted to Tulsi devi. I assisted in her care for many years and worshiped her personally with elaborate puja. I also had a shalagram shila which I carefully bathed, oiled, painted, fed and did arotiks to everyday. The amount of time this took was unreal.

Looking back I can see how absurd this is. Worshiping deities in a temple room is a little strange as it is, but rocks and trees? Personally I find it a little degrading and humiliating.

I love plants and have feelings for the one's in my care. I can also understand how someone can find the image of Tulsi devi beautiful or enchanting, despite some problematic issues with the original pastime. But worshiping a basil tree?

The shalagram shilas are also just rocks from the Kali Gandaki river in Nepal. Devotees obsess over them and collect them like baseball cards. The river used to be hard to reach and devotees would undergo major pains to acquire them. I have seen devotees collect hundreds of them, competing with each other, storing them in plastic containers. I guess the more you have the more powerful you are.

They were given their spiral shape by fossilized ammonites. The Puranas claim it was magical worms that chewed the stone. They began to be worshiped as Vishnu because the circular pattern was associated with the Sudarshana Chakra. The shape of the chakra further identifies it as a particular avatara.

This is really not different than how devotees of Shiva find and worship anything that looks like a Linga. There is a traffic barricade in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park that is now worshiped as a Shiva Linga. There is even a Hare Krishna playing kartels at the Shiva Linga in that video.

ISKCON thrives on the ignorance of the public. They also thrive on their arrogance.

I know Better Than You

One of the most frustrating attitudes ex cult members encounter is when people claim ISKCON is not a cult. After all "they fed me in college" or "I went to the Sunday Feast a total of three times".

"They are happy innocent people who like to dance in the street". "You ex Hare Krishna's have no proof, you just have a bug up your ass".

Perhaps they have ten minutes of experience with the cult watching a harinama, or they read an entire Wikipedia article, and this entitles them to downplay and challenge the expertise of those who were born into the movement, or spent decades of their lives in the backroom where the sausage is made.

The irony is the cult they are defending considers them karmis, demons and two legged animals.

It Was Just a Few Bad Apples

Another common response you see is that the faults of the movement are definitely not due to Prabhupada, his teachings, the leadership, or the culture of the movement. Rather those causing problems were an outlier and deviation. Just a bad apple here and there, marring an otherwise stellar religion with a hoary past in ancient India.

"Every religion has bad actors, it is unfair to blame the entire religion". Meanwhile they have never read one line of Prabhupada's teachings. Nor have they read the accounts of ex members.

It Is All In The Past

Naive Hare Krishna defenders, often influencers, will vaguely acknowledge that ISKCON has had problems in the past. They characterize them as something the movement has overcome: "ISKCON has matured past these things and let us not talk about them."

They feel it is wrong to paint the entire religion with the New Vrndavana brush, to focus too much on the insanity of the 70's and 80's. They feel they are being charitable and liberal minded.

The murders, beheadings, spousal abuse, child marriage, book distribution harems, thievery, illegal fraud, ended long ago. The bad actors were driven out or arrested. The rampant child physical and sexual abuse has been paid for and the movement is vigilant. So what are you complaining about?

They don't understand that the core cult dynamics which made this carnival or horrors possible is alive and well. Devotees are enslaved and exploited. Power is absolute, despotic, and corrupt. Gurus are constantly falling down. Problems are hidden. Women are treated like garbage. Children are psychologically abused. I strongly believe sexual and physical abuse persists.

Every Religion Has Problems

Many more excuse ISKCON by by normalizing abuse. "Everyone does it". Catholic priests molested children. Mormons have had a problem with child marriage and bigamy. As if ISKCON is overall a good organization but "no one is perfect".

They do not understand that ISKCON's problems are structural, built into the movement and teachings. Prabhupada advocated for child marriage and bigamy. Prabhupada created and excused an environment where children were beaten and molested.

ISKCON is not simply a religion, it is an authoritarian cult that controls and destroys the lives of its members in the name of a megalomaniac narcissist cult leader and his mission. It is an high control environment that functions through coercion, isolation and ideological capture (i.e. brainwashing).

Relax Bro

Many people have a reflexive attitude. When they see a group being heavily criticized, they project innocence onto them and rush to their aid. They see themselves as heroic and virtuous, defending the helpless, a motherly figure protecting the babes of the world.

Some may even believe they are defending ISKCON from "Hinduphobia".

When they see ex-members are hurt and angry, they assume they are bad actors. The abused become the abuser. They find strong criticism distasteful. It offends their refined sensibilities.

Imagine someone stumbling onto an altercation in the street where a woman is slapping a man. All they saw was her slapping him across the face. They immediately rush to the man's defense because he is the victim. They tell the woman to relax and stop being so upset, "How dare you treat him like this!".

They are too arrogant to recognize they don't have all the facts. The man had just tried to rape the woman and she struggled for dear life to push him off.

Not long ago, it was revealed he was having sex with a disciple. She was giving him blow jobs and having sex with him right in front of his deities at his home in Carpenteria California.

Here she shares details on a podcast.

Not only is he still a sannyasi and guru, but he is still officiating ceremonies like this 60th anniversary gala in Houston. He seems to have been the guest of honor.

ISKCON believes in a kind of radical forgiveness, that it is offensive to hold a devotee's faults against them. They often quote the verse "api cet su duracaro". Giriraja has been purified by chanting his rounds over the last year. Krishna will get pissed off and curse you if you still bring up his behavior.

Of course this only applies to leaders for some reason.

They also claim he is mentally unwell, innocent and was taken advantage of by the woman.

Even if both of these things are true, why is he still a sannyasi? Why is he still a guru? Why is he treated like one of the great leaders of the movement?

Shouldn't he have been made to put on White and live as a normal devotee? A regular Brahmacari would certainly have been drummed out of his ashram.

If he is truly mentally ill, he could be surrounded by devotees who care for him. Certainly he could still be respected as a Vaishnava, even a senior disciple of Prabhupada and a pioneer of the movement, but still a sannyasi and guru?

Sanyassis are not supposed to have sex, and gurus are certainly not supposed to have sex with their disciples. Surely due to the abuse of these two classes he should not be allowed to continue in either? Shouldn't honesty and transparency be enforced to honor the Vaishnava sanga? Shouldn't he humbly acquiesce, understanding the importance of integrity to the movement?

My guess is ISKCON needs to milk his big disciples for money. They need to salvage his legacy and prop him up, like Weekend at Bernie's, to not rock the boat. They are denying anything happened so the donations and free labor keep flowing and no devotional egos are offended. Let us stay in denial prabhus, anything can be done for the good of the mission.

Meanwhile his victim takes all the blame. He is innocent and she took advantage of him, despite the massive inequality in the power dynamic between them, him being "God's representative on earth" and all.

Video

Very disappointing. He has over 1 million followers and generally puts out well researched videos.

Unfortunately so many people are blind an ignorant as to the destructive nature of this cult and give it free publicity. I can't stand influencers who go to a Sunday Feast or something then walk away telling the public "what a great tradition this is".

The Bhagavad Gita is fundamentally a devotional text. Again and again it advises one cultivate the mood of surrender. Practically this means letting go of the sense one is the controller.

Bhakti in the Bhagavad Gita

In the Mahabharata this mood is exhibited by Draupadi who lets go of all attempts to save herself. In American Christian popular culture this theme is found in the ubiquitous phrase "Jesus take the wheel".

It evokes the image of driving down the road, completely stressed out, exasperated with how life has become unmanageable and overwhelming. Life has reached a point where the sense of control has been completely frustrated. The driver finds trust and faith, closes her eyes, takes her hands from the wheel, and gives control to God.

When the Bhagavad Gita speaks of Bhakti, it means to first find this consciousness of letting go (i.e. devotional renunciation). Then the driver is advised to opens her eyes, put her hands on the wheel and continues to drive; to do her duty, in that newfound peaceful space of surrender.

That connection to "God", however one understands it, it deeply personal. Every individual has to find that place of surrender in themselves.

How ISKCON Perverts Bhakti

Prabhupada takes this common religious idea and does something very destructive. Prabhupada climbs into the passenger seat of the car and says "I am the representative of God, surrender to God means surrender to me!".

"Instead of letting God take the wheel, give the wheel to me".

"Better yet, drive exactly as I tell you. When I say move right, you move right. When I say move left, you move left. When I say break, you break. When I say speed up, you speed up".

Prabhupada acts as a spiritual hijacker. You pulled over to pick up a hitchhiker. He turned out to be a fanatical Bengali cult leader. He uses the Bhagavad Gita as a stick up artist uses a gun.

When Prabhupada says "This is the order. Guru-mukha-padma-vakya, cittete koriya aikya. Now citta means consciousness or heart. "I shall do this only, bas. My Guru Maharaja told me; I shall do this." (SB lecture 1975) He is saying "silence your mind and do what I tell you". In kidnapper parlance "SHUT UP AN DRIVE".

Prabhupada Consciousness

This practice of giving control to Prabhupada is explicit in ISKCON. Devotees listen to his lectures, morning walks, and conversations, 24 hours a day. Prabhupada is in the passenger seat of every devotees car, telling them what to think at all times. This is so all consuming devotees even play Prabhupada when they are sleeping.

The result of listening to Prabhupada's direction is the devotee gives their life to his mission. Prabhupada takes everything the devotee possesses, everything the devotee is and ever will be. Letting Prabhupada take the wheel means giving ourselves completely over to gurus, temple presidents, and a broad system of control within an institution that uses, abuses and ultimately betrays us.

ISKCON Stunts Spiritual Growth

From the perspective of the Bhagavad Gita, this is why ISKCON devotees do not spiritually grow. By giving Prabhupada the wheel, they never actually give Krishna the wheel. They never find that subtle point letting go within themselves. Instead surrender is always confused with surrender to Prabhupada and his mission.

Devotees never find peace within themselves. They operate in the stressed state, in the consciousness of being the doer and controller, and they do so in the name of Krishna. ISKCON devotees can practice for 50 years and never actually touch Bhakti.

Even worse, the practice of surrender is used against them and becomes a source of extreme psychological trauma. The very concept of Bhakti becomes painful.

The solution is to open the passenger door and kick Prabhupada out onto the freeway. As cult survivors we place ourselves back in the drivers seat.

When I first read the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, I naively thought "as it is" was a poetic way of saying "here is the complete unabridged Bhagavad Gita".

I did not understand Prabhupada's title was deliberately offensive. It was meant to be a dig against all other translations. It was Prabhupada's way of saying "I am right and everyone else is wrong. Only I understand what Krishna is saying. All disagreement is Maya".

Attacking The Gitas Ecumenical Spirit

The Bhagavad Gita is a broad text which aims to bring together different philosophies and unite them under one large umbrella. It seeks to harmonize the schools of the Upanishads and the earliest forms of Vedanta, Sankhya and Yoga. It is deliberately flexible and open to interpretation.

In very title of his book Prabhupada attacks this inclusive spirit.

Authoritarianism

Prabhupada bypasses all human subjectivity. He has no respect for anyone who disagrees. There can be no opinion, no logic, no reasoning, no agreed upon difference of perspective. All "mundane wrangling" is overridden by his authority. He is a self realized pure devotee and the custodian of an ancient unchanged parampara from Krishna himself.

He is speaking on behalf of Krishna. He is Krishna's representative. There can be no argument. If you reject Prabhupada, you are rejecting Krishna. You do so because you are dishonest and insincere.

Prabhupada has simplified the philosophy of the Gita into a choice: you either surrender to Krishna by surrendering to him, or you rebel against Krishna by rebelling against him.

Self Righteousness

As mentioned before, a core teaching of the Gita is that one should abandon egoistic self righteousness and do what is being asked intuitively by the divine. The mindset "I am right, I am dharmic" is an illusion one must rise above.

Prabhupada misses the entire point of the Bhagavad Gita and embraces self righteous. He is right, everyone else is wrong. Surrender is externalized into surrender to him, to his authority, to his cult, to his ideas of dharma.

"God Speaks Through Me!"

His sense of self importance is so great, all distinctions between himself and Krishna are erased. As a "pure devotee" his opinions, his attitudes, his actions, are extensions of Krishna's. Whatever he wants is what Krishna wants.

Krishna speaks whenever he opens his mouth. His purports are Krishna directly speaking to us. They will become the law books of mankind for the next 10,000 years.

Whatever he does is done perfectly for Krishna. If he insults you, it is Krishna insulting you. If he takes your money, your time, your freedom, it is Krishna doing it.

"I Am Abusing You on Behalf of God"

Krishna instructs the readers of the Gita to speak gently and not disturb the minds of others (17.15). Prabhupada relentlessly called people "mudhas, fools, rascals, animals, demons, mlecchas".

When asked why he called people mudhas, Prabhupada would say "I am not saying, Krishna is saying, Krishna is calling you fools and rascals." Because Krishna used the word "mudha" in specific circumstances, Prabhupada is now green lit to abuse the entire world on his behalf. He weaponizes Krishna to beat others into submission.

Deviation From the Text

Prabhupada offered dangerous interpretations of the text, such as elevating adharma above dharma in the service of Krishna, opening ISKCON to a heartless "ends justifies the means" management philosophy that thrives on corruption.

He consistently mistranslated terms like Yoga and Jnana to emphasize Bhakti, or Brahman to refer to Krishna.

His purports are simplistic and repetitive. Every purport simply hammers away at the reader, that they must submit to his cult and chant his chosen mantra.

He should have named his book The Bhagavad Gita Everyone Else is Wrong.

The GBC's Guru Disciple Seminar is required for all new initiates. In the seminar students learn the GBC is not to blame if their guru falls down. The GBC does their best to vet those they appoint to be gurus but ultimately it is up to the initiate to investigate their prospective spiritual master thoroughly.

If you chose poorly, that is on you prabhu. It's not our problem.

What they omit is there is no way to truly vet gurus in ISKCON. Devotees generally do not go online. Those that do remain in pro-ISKCON Facebook circles. Listening to criticism of ISKCON is Maya and strictly forbidden, especially for New Bhaktas. Persons on subs like this are demons.

Looking into a gurus scandals and past fall downs is guru aparadha and Vaishnanva aparadha. It is blaspheme of devotees and the first offense to the holy name. If their prospective guru fell down in the past, or did heinous shit on the orders of Kirtananda, the devotee may be totally unaware.

The only people who could tell them with some authority are committed temple devotees. Very few want to rock the boat. Temple presidents don't want to get involved and alienate the disciples of that guru, or cause friction in the community.

The only exposure to a guru many potential disciples have is through that guru's disciple network. The godfamily is almost always pushing that person to surrender to their guru and take initiation. They depict their guru as the greatest thing since sliced bread, the rightful acharya, and a maha maha bhagavat pure devotee.

The GBC only gets involved and puts out statements if their hand is forced by a major scandalous fall down. The guru seriously and flagrantly broke their vows over a long period of time. Otherwise it is very hush hush. After all, api cet surduracaro. Devotional service is powerful enough to rectify all mistakes!

The only fall down they take seriously is when the guru disobeys the GBC. Then they come down on them ruthlessly.

According to that same Guru Disciples seminar, gurus are allowed to have fall downs and to be rectified by undergoing atonement as guided by the GBC. A guru can even have illicit sex or eat meat, but as long as he is sorry and says a few Maha Mantras, spends some time in guru jail in Mayapura or Goverdhana, he can get back into the game baby. He can even take new disciples if approved by the GBC. But those disciples better do their research, because if he falls again, it is not their problem.

Perhaps the GBC should build an anonymous website for whistle blowing on gurus? Something like Rate My Professor. Devotees can leave comments about what a narcissistic jerk he is, how he shouted at them in front of everyone, how he misuses money, how they noticed his enthusiasm when talking alone with a specific young mataji.

Hell, maybe one of us should build it. Devotees might just use it. But you just know it would get spammed with fake reviews like devotees do on Amazon.

Prabhupada was constantly calling everyone rascals, mudhas, demons, fools, hogs, dogs, mlecchas. Where does this tendency come from? Why did he do it?

You don't see other gurus doing this.

Abuse as a Tool of Power

Abuse is an effective means of establishing control. When a people are successfully convinced they are inferior they can be dominated. When the abuser becomes convinced the abused is inferior he can successfully set aside his conscience.

Put simply, Prabhupada wanted to control the world. He was not a benign detached teacher. He wanted to colonize, to enslave, and to subject the world to a new caste system. He used the teachings and persona of Krishna to do this.

Colonialism and Racism

The British characterized the natives of India as low born savages. "Hindoos" worship devils and reject God. They are disgusting to look at: black skinned, skinny, hairy, burnt by the sun. They are half naked two legged animals who dwell in primitive huts. Their humid jungles are full of tigers and mosquitos. They are intellectually inferior, and aside from the martial races, abject cowards. Indians should be enslaved for their own good.

Why view Indians this way? Because it is necessary to demonize those you wish to control.

Similarly, the Puranas speak of foreigners as barbarians, mlecchas, demons, outcastes. Western devotees are subjected to this in ISKCON. We were taught we are inferior, having taken sinful births due to bad karma.

The traditional reaction to foreigners within Indian culture has been to demonize them. Why would India want to humiliate and then subjugate foreigners?

It is believed we must repress and abuse others before they do the same to us.

This has been a common assumption among all peoples in all places throughout history. India has been ground zero for invasion by hostile foreigners. Calcutta was the capital of British India. This only ended within Prabhupada's lifetime.

The Age of Exploration

When Europeans encountered other peoples, they felt fear. They decided "we must fight and enslave them before they do the same to us". They convinced themselves other peoples are inferior, otherwise it would not be possible.

For centuries Europeans were being invaded and enslaved. Before the Age of Exploration, Islamic Caliphates had relentlessly attacked Europe. They conquered Spain and much of Eastern Europe, pushing into the heart of the continent. North African raiders captured and enslaved Europeans throughout the Mediterranean, so much so the coasts were abandoned.

It is widely believed European colonialism was driven by economic reasons, the search for spices and goods after the caliphates captured the overland trade routes. There is a deeper reason. It was due to trauma and fear; the conviction one must conquer or be conquered. "The world is hard. Everyone wants to harm us. Screw it, let's go get them first".

Filthy Inferior Mlecchas

Similarly India experienced a thousand years of constant invasion. The disposition understandably became one of demonization as a pretext to conquest and self defense. The only relationship one can have with foreigners is to enslave or be enslaved. They should be considered outcastes, worthy of bondage until they prove otherwise.

Yavanas under the Graeco Bactrian Empire were acknowledged as great scientists, astronomers, astrologers and mathematicians. But they were still Yavanas. They did not follow Vedic culture. They did not assimilate. They did not convert. They are not safe.

Prabhupada the Conqueror

Thus when Prabhupada went out into the world, he did so in the mood of chastisement. He recreated this age old dynamic. Swamijis instinct was to disarm and humiliate the natives, to put them in their place. He was not simply "spreading the mercy of Lord Chaitanya". He was reflexively using religion to enslave.

He was acting on a thousand years of Indian history. He personally witnessed the British Raj and this same dynamic used against his people. Now he was going to do the same to the world.

Abuse is not only verbal and psychological. It is built into systems of inequality like the caste system. It is displayed through public demonstrations of violence towards marginalized communities. It is reinforced through unequal two tiered systems of justice. Leaders do not listen and serve only the elite. In arrogance and comfort, they cannot conceive their worldview may be wrong. Pressure builds beneath the ivory tower until the slaves revolt and cities burn.

"He Was Not Talking About Devotees"

Oh but he was.

Devotees often see themselves as on the sidelines rooting for Prabhupada. He their champion in the war against the world. They are part of the superior conquering elite.

In truth, when Prabhupada called everyone fools and rascals, he was speaking to his disciples too. He was creating a psychological trap that can only be sprung by surrendering to him.

"You are a mudha, an ass; a two legged animal, but if you surrender to me, and remain surrendered, you are at least made human. Here, put on these civilized Indian clothes and eat this civilized Indian food".

Devotees internalize this as intended. They call themselves mudhas and rascals. "I am such a fool, I am useless, I am a demon prabhu!". This is the mindset of the broken slave. It is no different than an Indian coolie serving his British Sahib, sheepishly referring to himself as a savage.

Self Protection

When someone comes up to you on the street and starts shouting abuse at you, they are trying to gain control over you. It is a psychological attack. If you listen and do not fight back, they will eventually capture you. That is how cults work.

When you listen to the abuse submissively (tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā) you internalize it. You repeat it to yourself constantly. You eventually become their slave and remain their slave until you say "no more" and stand up for yourself.

Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (Bhagavad Gita 18.66) is the most popular verse in ISKCON. Its misinterpretation is also the root of ISKCON's problems.

Krishna is answering Arjuna's doubts from the second chapter. Killing one's gurus (and beloved relatives) is against dharma and such an action will incur great sin. Krishna concludes by telling Arjuna give up all of his concerns about dharma and fight. Krishna will protect him from sin.

The True Message

Within the context of the Gita, Krishna is telling Arjuna to "abandon all varieties of egoistic duties and surrender to the supreme will".

This is a deeply personal transformational experience, an inner meditation, a calling to do what one intuitively know to be the highest good. In theistic terms; we all know what God wants from us, it is hard but we should surrender and do it anyway.

This can often involve giving up an attachment to what we think is right. For example, let us say I have a tendency to rage bait people and fight strangers online. I do so because I know I am right and they are wrong. I am defending dharma.

But a inner voice is urging me to move beyond this, to practice tolerance and compassion, to see the bigger picture, to stop believing I am the egoistic controller of the world and arbiter of right and wrong, and ultimately to love my enemy. I should listen to that inner voice and push through my egoistic resistance.

In this case "fighting" is to not fight.

Where is Goes Wrong

Cults like ISKCON believe they are the sole arbiters of the supreme will.

Krishna's will comes through the guru parampara alone. It is not up to the individual to decide what God wants, to listen to their intuition. The individual is a fool and a rascal. The system of authority decides.

Prabhupada makes this claim over and over again in his books. "You must surrender to the bona-fide spiritual master and I am the only bona-fide spiritual master. I know Krishna's will 'as it is', no one else".

This egoistic pronouncement "only I determine what is dharma" is precisely what the Bhagavad Gita tells us to give up.

Generations of gurus like Prabhupada invert the Gitas core message. The "will of God" is externalized into commands from above passing through a system of worldly authority. The individual is dis-empowered.

Thus surrender to one's own inner conscience, to do what one understands to be one's highest calling, becomes surrender to an earthly institution.

The instruction to give up "all dharmas" no longer means to give up self righteousness. It now means abandoning right and wrong in the service of a corrupt institution. The devotee becomes self righteous, beneath the umbrella of a self righteous organization that is deeply immoral.

Where it Goes REALLY Wrong

The institution is imagined to exist above worldly considerations of right and wrong. Anything can be done to spread the mission. ISKCON is operating on a higher platform of dharma. Dharma and adharma can be used interchangeably to serve Krishna. One is not better than the other.

Thus devotees can lie, cheat and steal. The movement can be spread by hook or crook. One should not be a better moralist than one's spiritual master. Anything and anyone can be sacrificed for the mission.

Prabhupada did this personally. He consistently put the needs of the mission above the well being of his disciples. As we discussed previously, he used people. He went so far as to encourage celibacy in contravention to dharma to free up labor for his mission.

Prabhupada was well aware of corrupt practices like the change up, where devotees hustled money from people on the street. It was so bad devotees were kicked out of Japan. He supported it because he needed the money to build temples in India.

Prabhupada encouraged parents to send their children to the gurukula, to free them up for preaching. Under his watch these book selling daycare centers became places of extreme physical and sexual torture for children. Prabhupada wanted these children to become super soldiers for his mission. They were sacrificed.

The Root of ISKCON's Problems

Following Prabhupada's example, ISKCON believes it must spread the movement by any means necessary. Dharma not only can be sacrificed, it SHOULD be sacrificed.

Thus leaders have no sense of doing right. Corruption is a way of life. All that matters is money and manpower for the mission. Keeping the lights on is more important than the life of any devotee.

Over time this becomes "It is right to do wrong for the mission". It is reflexive. Leaders are habituated to "making the tough choice" and harming devotees if it is expedient.

Anything but cruel necessity is Maya. To care about the welfare of devotees is to put a lower form of dharma above a higher. It is weakness. It is disobeying Prabhupada. Prabhupada wants you to get out there and die on the street "distributing" books, to die on the battlefield.

Sex as Dharma

Hinduism is not against sex. For thousands of years, "no illicit sex" meant no sex outside of marriage. Sex for pleasure between two spouses was understood to be dharmic because it insured sexual desire was expressed in a positive constructive way. When a couple enjoys the pleasure of sex it helps them to remain united and happy. They are devoted to each other and unlikely to cheat. Sex is good for marriage.

This is mentioned in Bhagavad Gita 7.11: dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo 'smi. "I am sex that is not against dharma". Indeed kama, or pleasure, is one of the purusarthas, or goals of human life. It is a healthy balanced part of being a human being. A healthy functioning sexuality is a necessary step towards moksha.

The Gaudiya Math

Prabhupada translates this verse differently. For Prabhupada, sex according to dharma is when sex is used only for procreation. This is a break from 1000's of years of tradition. Not even the Gaudiya Math, the cult Prabhupada joined in his youth, thought this way.

The Gaudiya Math never demanded disciples take initiation vows forbidding sex. I doubt Prabhupada himself followed that standard in his own Grhasta Ashram. No one demanded that of him.

Within broader Indian religious culture only Sanyassis took lifelong vows of celibacy. Brahmacaris only temporarily remained away from the opposite sex. Householders did not. Only temple priests and pujaris restrained sex under certain conditions. For example, a householder could not have sex and then immediately go on the altar. Otherwise they were free to have sex for pleasure.

Prabhupada's War on Sex

Prabhupada effectively forced everyone in his cult to take the vows of a sanyassi upon initiation.

Householders are only allowed to have sex when they are having a child. This is may be only a handful of times during decades of marriage. Even then they must chant 50 rounds to purify their minds. When they have sex, they cannot enjoy it.

Why this insane standard? There are two reasons for this.

Prabhupada believed in a black and white dichotomy between material and spiritual life. You are either in Maya or in Krishna. There is no in between. Sex is Maya. This is a hard line fanatical mindset. In a strange way he was forcing his own sanyassi ashram onto everyone else. For Prabhupada, kama is forbidden for everyone, as it was forbidden for him.

Celibate Soldiers

The second and more insidious reason is he wanted to militarize his movement. He wanted to spread Krishna Consciousness. The fastest way to do this was to force all of his disciples to live like Gaudiya Math sanyassis who were traveling preachers.

His disciples were to be male and female sanyassins, dedicated to preaching, sacrificing everything, living with nothing, dedicated 100% to his mission. Sex and children were an unfortunate anchor. They weighed down upon his demands and created competing loyalties. Families interfered with book distribution.

He told his disciples "I am only allowing you to have sex a few times so why get married at all". He forbid sex as a way of discouraging marriage. He wanted his disciples to remain unmarried so they could dedicate all of their time to him. He wanted to use them.

If insincere disciples MUST have children, they should send them to gurukulas as soon as possible and force them to become pure devotee preachers that benefit Prabhupada's mission.

The Fruits of Adharma

To force everyone to live as sanyassis to serve your mission is a break from dharma. According to Vedic philosophy, a break from dharma causes suffering. Prabhupada abandoned dharma. This has been incredibly destructive to the lives of devotees, to devotee marriages and to devotee children.

Devotee marriages are extremely dysfunctional. Men and women are forced to live like friends. If their relationships survive they are often cold and confused. If you see a devotee couple living for decades happy and in love, you can assume they are ignoring the restriction on sex.

Shaming a married couple into never having sex causes conflict and misunderstanding. Devotees force themselves to live unhappy lives of denial. In many cases this leads to adultery, the very thing the Hindu institution of marriage seeks to restrain.

Sex is a natural way for couples express affection and trust. Sex is part of the cycle of push and pull that relationships need. Without it, marriages grow tense, uncommunicative and chaotic. People need to be able to kiss and make up.

The traditional religious culture of India considers marriage foundational to human society. Thus healthy sex is a key component of keeping society intact. It maintains dharma.

Psychological Toll

In many religions homosexuality is condemned. Gay, trans and queer people are forced to live in shame and fear of their own natural urges, of their own need for intimacy. In ISKCON everyone is made to live like this.

It is extremely difficult for devotees (and ex devotees) to have a normal relationship with their own sexuality. There is so much shame and self hatred. When the natural urge for sex is repressed, it finds unhealthy means of expression. Devotees live quiet lives of shame struggling against what is normal and natural.

Brahmacaris spend decades fighting to the death to avoid getting married. Having a wife and child, working for money, all of these things are seen as a major fall down from grace. They are Maya. When a Brahmacari shows up for mangala aroti in white, a humiliation ritual, he is treated as an outcaste by his godbrothers and sometimes even his guru.

Devotees have their sexuality twisted. They end up indulging in things the broader path of Hinduism would consider adharma, things which are harmful to themselves and others. When positive expressions of sex are denied, only negative expressions remain. In extreme cases, this has led to the sexual abuse of children.

All of this so Prabhupada could spread his damned preaching mission. The culture of sacrificing people for the mission is at the center of ISKCON. It comes from the Founder.

We have all see those infamous clickbait popup ads claiming "one weird trick" will fix a complex problem we struggle with. "Doctors hate him!". Religions do this too.

Chaotic periods in human history often spawn new religious movements that offer simplified salvation to the entire world through a single practice, a niche technique, that is accessible to all castes and creeds.

The political and social fabric of society is disintegrating. The old ways of doing things are declared to have ended. A new age has begun. The ancient systems are no longer valid. The fight is hopeless. The ancient order is broken and we begin fresh.

This is an attempt to regain control through isolating, preserving and revitalizing the essence of a societies identity.

Some Examples

12th Century Japan was embroiled in war and famine during the Kamakura Period. Japan was declared to have entered a "Kali Yuga" so to say. Pure Land Buddhism arose, offering a path to enlightenment through chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha. Instead of rigorous monastic practice, one chants this mantra (Namo Amitābhāya) and is reborn in his land.

13th Century Japan was similarly devastated by the Mongol Invasions. Nichiren Buddhism offered salvation through chanting the Daimoku (Nam Myoho Renge Kyo), which promises to eliminate all of one's karma. This practice flourished again in Japan following the chaos of WW2, popularized by celebrities like Tina Turner.

14th Century Eastern Europe saw widespread chaos during the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and the invasion of the Ottomans. Christianity was simplified into chanting the Jesus Prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner"). This promised to grant the experience of Theosis, unification with God, to everyone equally.

These practices are seen as an effort by the elite to ensure the national religion and culture survives. It is a bit like a nobleman in his tower, besieged by barbarians, tossing his jewels from the high windows to the peasants beyond the wall. At least the jewels will survive.

Medieval Bengal

16th Century Bengal was similarly a pressure cooker. The Muslim Husain Shahi Dynasty was persecuting Hindus. Public displays of Hinduism were met with violence and the seizure of assets. Lower caste Hindus were being converted to Islam in masses. Hindu society was disintegrating.

There was an explosion of Hindu revivalism in a desperate move of self preservation. It teetered on violent revolution. This is documented in the story of the Chand Kazi and the Sankirtana revolution. It is likely Chaitanya began as a revolutionary political figure before becoming a revivalist religious leader and mystical saint.

There were high level defections within the Shahi government, such as Rupa and Sanatana, as the rulers faced the immense pressure of a Hindu uprising.

The loud congregational chanting of Srivasa angam, hidden from the public, can be seen as a subversive radical political movement operating in private, a frenzied slave revolt. This exploded out onto the streets into a mass protest movement that targeted the seat of political power leading to the Kazis capitulation.

The highly complex system of Hindu ritualism and study had been reduced to the chanting of a mantra. This is because those systems had been virtually outlawed. The Muslim rulers could not however stop people from moving their tongues. So in a sense, Bengali Hinduism was hyper simplified and abstracted, then reduced to chanting a mantra, at first privately and then communally in the streets. Chaitanya is shoe horned in as an avatara, hidden; too esoteric to be predicted in scripture, thus authoritatively beginning the new reformed age.

The hope this congregational chanting would overturn the oppressive irreligious Muslim government, became a hope the entire irreligious world order would be overturned. The Maha Mantra became the solution to Kali Yuga. The intensity of spiritual truth, stripped down to its pure essence, an act of desperation against all odds, will wash it all away.

Cold War America

20th Century America was also a time of intense political and social upheaval. The hippie movement started with youth resisting the draft. They were being sent to die in Vietnam as part of an endless war against Communism. The US was divided along generational and racial lines on issues like Civil Rights. An American President had been assassinated.

ISKCON was not only offering an exotic religious culture, promising answers from the spiritually superior east, not corrupted by Western materialism, it was promoting a simplified solution to all the world's problems. Sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the Maha Mantra in the streets, would purify all the worlds sins, save everyone from nuclear war, create universal brotherhood, fix all the world's problems with one weird trick.

Ego is Latin for "I".

Dharmic religions emphasize the dissolution of this "I", or ahankara, first through removing negative qualities such as greed, hatred, and selfishness; then peeling away the layers of temporal identity in a very private, slow and often gentle process of awakening. In the end nothing remains but the true self which is ineffable and one with all things.

ISKCON completely ignores this traditional practice. It claims there is a false ego and a real ego. The false ego is the self outside the cult. The real ego is the self inside the cult. Letting go of the ego is as simple as identifying oneself as a devotee of Krishna. No need for a lifetime of work. Just imagine "I am Krishna's servant" and you are there.

The Problem

Simply imagining oneself to be a gopi in Vrndavana does not dissolve the ego and reclaim a real self. This is a mistake arising from Raganuga Bhakti, where gurus magically reveal to followers their real ego.

Even if this were true, and the atma was by nature a gopi or gopa playing in Goloka, the individual has no access to this. In its place, one creates another form of ego, a facade over the true self: "I am a devotee". That ego preserves the anarthas, locking them in place.

"I am a devotee of Krishna" becomes "I am a devotee of ISKCON, I dress this way, I eat this food, I believe this ideology, I hold this rank, I am senior, I am a guru". ISKCON functions as a way for people to create a new and improved sense of self, one that is pious, devoted, and possessed of secret knowledge above all others.

ISKCON is clearly a form of egotism. Devotees become outraged when that ego is criticized and attacked. The reaction to this sub is proof of that. They rage in the comments, then down vote and report everything. To threaten the ego is to threaten one's deepest sense of security.

It is not even a healthy form of egotism. Devotees live in a fantasy world clinging to mythology. They depend upon cruel leaders. They idolize Prabhupada as a god, a vicarious extension of their own ego, a projection of the self onto "the perfect man". They cling to ISKCON as a life raft in a dangerous world filled with demons and monsters.

The idea that Indians and Indian culture are superior is clearly egotism. The idea that ISKCON will subjugate and rule the world is egotism. The sense of entitlement and conceit devotees hold towards "karmis" is the grossest form of egotism.

"False Ego"

Prabhupada used the term "false ego", as if there is a real positive ego. From the perspective of the Dharmic religions, this is embracing and justifying illusion.

ISKCON presents itself as a movement where people practice internal detachment, seeing themselves as the servant of the servant, while externally playing roles like guru and disciples, sanyassi and householder.

This is simply not the case. No one has this vision. Devotees are heavily locked into these roles and identities. ISKCON pays lip service to the idea of renunciation, repeating a hypothetical process of inner detachment. In reality you see people cling to power. You see the collective exaltation of wealth. You see ruthless pragmatism and striving for external makers of success such as giant temples, book scores etc.

ISKCON is obsessed with projecting a false image of success and happiness, both into the world and among devotees. It hides the true reality of suffering and abuse. Ex members clearly understand this to be a form of institutional propaganda. Even more it is a form of self deception, to preserve the collective sense of self.

No Ego

One cannot approach the renunciation of the ego with a positive claim: "I am a devotee of Krishna". That is itself a statement of ego.

The practice of letting go of the ego is negative: "I am not this, I am not this". The true self exists without distinction, or so the dharmic philosophies tell us. It is already perfect. To find the true self, one must completely let go of what we tell ourselves we are.

To approach this level of renunciation one must first clear away negative psychological habits such as greed, hatred, fear. This is a process ISKCON calls "anartha nirvrtti". Ironically, to even begin such a process one must leave ISKCON. As a collective of people living within egotism, ISKCON exists to reinforce anarthas, to entrench them and to bury them deeply within. This is why from a spiritual perspective, ISKCON is such a toxic organization.

Temple Presidents and Gurus

I spoke previously about the corruption and cruelty of temple presidents, how their primary function is to capture the spiritually sincere and maximize the amount of manpower and money that can be extracted.

They streamline efficiency while taking profits; minimizing what the movement gives to its followers. When a devotee takes more they can give they are expelled from the movement, even after 50 years of service.

The secondary function of temple presidents is to prepare the congregation and temple workers to be exploited by gurus. They facilitate the process of initiation, providing recommendations, organizing seminars and courses, giving long term service to test obedience and the willingness to give.

IKSCON temples are disciple making machines. The movement is composed of mini cults of personality centered on charismatic or semi-charismatic preachers. Temples fuse these mini cults into one larger cult with practical activities like service, deity worship and preaching. The presidents job is to keep it all going.

By encouraging devotion to the individual gurus he ensures followers are willing participants in the temple project. Many gurus directly hand disciples over to presidents saying "if you wish to please me, please him".

In reciprocation he keeps the guru business going by kicking the profits up the institutional hierarchy. He makes sure disciples remain connected, subservient and inspired. He facilitates interactions during the gurus visits and reports what he knows of the disciples behavior. He herds the gurus flock and gets his share or wool. It is a symbiotic cooperative relationship of exploiting the spiritually sincere.

The Ambivalent Cult Leader

I have know a many gurus and served them behind the scenes. I have sat in on their confidential meetings and seen them in their most private moments.

With a few exceptions, they do not care about their disciples. Disciples are seen as a nuisance. There is almost an unspoken repulsion towards them. As if their fawning need for approval is a sign of spiritual immaturity that engenders disgust. Disciples are absurd needy children that get in the way.

It is sort of like how Elvis or the Beatles might eventually mock their fans. It gets ridiculous over time and the star loses respect. They might treat them respectfully in person, but behind closed doors it is a different matter. Less popular gurus are desperate to gain such followers. Successful gurus settling into a kind of imperious ambivalence while struggling to maintain boundaries.

They are living their lives, eating, dressing, packing, while 20-30 people are amassing outside their window. They could care less. Just keep them away.

I have seen people fly across the world, or drive eight hours, to see their guru. They need permission to do something, to marry someone, to move somewhere. The guru will just ignore them. It is inconvenient. Maybe they will see them at the last minute, reluctantly, angrily, as the guru is rushing off to the airport.

Meanwhile they are having meetings with random people who just walk up, old friends, people they want to see. Disciples are the last possible priority.

It is the job of the leading disciples to smooth this all over, to make it look like the guru is a good guy and cares about them, that he is just overburdened. That is not to say gurus do not entirely care, but disciples and their problems are not really on their minds.

When the eager disciples finally has a meeting with their guru, the guru puts on a facade. He is feeling frustrated and pestered but pretends to be affectionate. "I have been waiting to see you, why didn't you just come up?" Meanwhile in truth he had been telling disciples to keep the person away.

Narcissistic Lifestyle

Over time gurus become traveling celebrities. They do not care about their disciples at all, beyond giving the attention needed required to harvest large donations from the wealthiest.

Gurus, sanyassis, GBC's fall into a trap where they are trying to save the world by furthering Chaitanyas mission through an endless series of personal projects. They compete with each other, who can do the next big thing for Prabhupada. The competition can get ugly.

Gaudiya Vaishnavism is nothing but a patchwork of competing cults. Each ISKCON guru is trying to start his own cult, to outdo all the others, to be the self effulgent acharya. They are only barely restrained by an institutional framework designed to stop ISKCON from splitting apart.

Though the biggest gurus do achieve a kind of contentment over time. They are above competition and their godbrothers feel it. They have won. Some without even trying.

Gurus believe their own hype. Every two years there is a new project, a new book, a new temple. The guru runs around promoting it like a social media influencer or actor on the podcast circuit. They collect money from wealthy disciples and supporters, without stepping on toes of course. They might task other disciples with organizing the project. They spend their best years pursuing endless vanity projects. Meanwhile their disciples often struggle to survive.

Many gurus are just big children. They are selfish, entitled, and spoiled. They have lived in this strange bubble their entire lives; they never worked, never supported themselves, never struggled. They throw temper tantrums, they toss their toys about, they yell at people. They only think about themselves and how they want to play next, what their next project will be and how to get it done with the idiots Krishna has sent them.

ISKCON is a business. It does not care about its members. Temple Presidents see devotees as manpower and money. Everything is cold, distant, selfish and transactional.

Even in the corporate world this is bad. It is immoral, short sighted and bad for business. Nevertheless it is standard. It is much worse when a religious organization does it.

Corruption

Religions have a responsibility to care for followers.

People are not joining a religion to put in work, they are joining as an expression of their highest ideals. They expose the most vulnerable parts of themselves. There is an implicit trust their leaders will respond with care. Leaders are responsible to reflect those highest ideals back to their followers. They should be motivated by unconditional love not selfishness, not exploitation.

If religious leaders are unable to do this, if they must be transactional, at least they should have integrity. There should be a set of ethical principles that are non-negotiable. At the minimum leaders should be respectful, just, honest, and fair.

ISKCON leaders cannot even do that. Forget about compassion and care, there is not even honor and integrity.

I witnessed so much corruption. There was once a woman who started coming to the temple. Her husband was freaking out and didn't want her to become a devotee. He offered the temple president something around $100k to discourage her and send her home. The president took the money. It was for Krishna. I was thinking "what about her soul?".

What Can You Give Me?

I was not safe either. Once I was seriously wronged by another devotee. The temple president I had served for 17 years at that point approached me with a deal, "I will take your side in this conflict if you are going to remain at the temple". In other words he would provide me justice and protect me as long as I promised to continue to provide him with valuable service.

This is transactional morality. If I was going to leave, he would support the party that was clearly in the wrong because they had something better to offer him.

A proper leader would have said "What they did was wrong. I stand by you even if I have nothing to gain, even if you are leaving the temple, even if you are leaving Krishna Consciousness, because it is the right thing to do. Regardless of what happens, I am grateful for your years of service and owe you a debt.".

Bringing The Envelope

There is no right and wrong in ISKCON, only what is good for the movement, what is good for the mission, and what is good for the temple. Simply put, give me money and manpower.

This degrades even further into what is easiest for the temple president. Loyalty is rewarded, submission is demanded, independence is punished, weakness is crushed. Keeping the business going is all that matters.

Even when caring for others was understood to be a good long term strategy, I saw it constantly sacrificed for immediate gain.

Thus devotees are treated with the cold calculating mindset of a Microsoft or Google hiring manager. No love, no kindness, no goodness, just what can you give me today. Even after 30 years of service, you might as well be a new bhakta.

In mafia language, you are only as good as your last envelope: the weekly cut of illegal profits kicked up to the boss. If the envelope is light, the temple president is displeased, Krishna is displeased.

Karmic Retribution

According to the broader understanding of karma found in dharmic religions, the punishment for ruthlessly using people in the name of religion is severe.

Prabhupada would call all other gurus cheaters. Sincere people come to him, the insincere go to others and are swindled. In truth, ISKCON cons its members just like Sai Baba. It promises them the world and enslaves them, treating them as undervalued employees, shudras serving vaishyas, taking what it can and discarding them in the end.

At one point as a young Brahmacari I attended a GBC leadership seminar. It was devoted to changing this cold corporate culture, or at least appearing to. I was frequently partnered up with my local GBC, a powerful influential leader. Afterwards he privately recommended that I be trained up as the next temple president. The temple president was looking for someone to eventually take over and the GBC had found a prospect.

Now I am glad I wasn't trained up to be a temple president. I would have totally bought into this cruel efficient way of treating devotees. I would have hurt people in the name of Krishna. I was saved from an immense karmic load.