Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1989, Page 38
of how he cheated someone out of money. Greg asked “Is that something you would have
done before you got involved?” This question, and the many similar ones that would soon
follow, seemed to draw Ken into recalling and comparing his past identity to his Krishna
persona. When Ken responded negatively, Greg continued: “So that's something you picked
up from hanging around Krishnas... how to con, to cheat. There was a moment of silence as
Ken pondered this information, his fare screwed up in some conflict. Sandy, reacting
perhaps to Ken's struggle to assimilate this information, talked about the dangers of
chanting. “It can be damaging to the thought processes.” He then noted the similarity
between speaking in tongues and chanting (both can be used as a “mind block”) as he
attempted to explain the research on sensory deprivation and the physiological need for
stimulation.
The deprogrammers then began pointing out Prabhupada's moral inconsistencies.
Prabhupada stated that it is not cheating to lie when fund-raising, as long as the fund-raiser
does not keep the money for himself --if he keeps the money, then it is cheating. Ken
responded again by citing doctrine. Greg confronted him on ISKCON‟s use of
“transcendental trickery” during their food distribution campaigns. Krishnas would collect
money, then use only part of it to buy old food. On the one hand it is spiritually and morally
acceptable to trick people to get their message through, yet “... before, we were talking
about spirituality as including total honesty...” At this point Bobbi Stem, who had been silent
for some time, began supporting her husband's disclosures with similar tales from ex-
Krishna clients. In a move that seemed partly designed to authenticate his ex-Krishna
“credentials,” Greg then gave Ken a sample of what he labeled his fund-raising “rap.”
Ken's retreat. When the deprogrammers seemed finished, Ken refuted then in an involved
and personal way, by denying that he had done any transcendental trickery. “I never lied ...
whatever I said was always true.” Greg: “OK, maybe you didn't but you were representing
an organization that ...” Ken finished the thought “... whose members did.”
Curt then added his heaviest confrontation to date. ISKCON leaders engage in
transcendental trickery, and whether or not Ken did it is not the issue. The (ISKCON)
movement does it, and Ken's denial is “God damn lying through your teeth ...and you're
covering their ass ...you're trying to minimize that deception ...yeah, and I'm pissed
because you sit there and you act so innocent when you know damn well that that's what‟s
happening in the movement. If you want to associate yourself with a movement that‟s
deceptive at its core, yeah, that‟s your choice. But don't try to claim that its some type of
higher spiritual understanding.” Silence hung heavy in the room, and Ken looked shocked
and caught off guard. The silence was at last broken by Curt “I'm sorry, I don't mean to get
heavy with you but I just get upset because.. Ken tried to complete Curt‟s thought: “It‟s
part of your job.” Curt denied it “No, it‟s not part of my job it's my true feelings, I get
upset...”
Ken seemed to back down a little. Curt listened intently as the cultist admitted that the
Krishnas do believe the ends justify the means, the ends are spiritual but the means often
are not. Ken: The goal is to make people God-conscious, but the means are not.” Curt
“Exactly, and I don't know if you, before you got involved in this movement, prescribed [sic]
to that [ends justifying means argument], because you're making a big assumption ...that
what you've got is of God! What if it isn‟t? ...One of the main ways to test if something is of
God is by the fruits that it bears ...Truth is truth, man, and it shouldn't have to be
propagated by deception.”
Curt attacked ISKCON's justification for using “transcendental trickery.” Because we are so
caught up in maya (the “world of illusion”), the Krishnas believe we often have to be tricked
into seeing the truth. This is the same logic used by other cults to justify their acts of
deception.
of how he cheated someone out of money. Greg asked “Is that something you would have
done before you got involved?” This question, and the many similar ones that would soon
follow, seemed to draw Ken into recalling and comparing his past identity to his Krishna
persona. When Ken responded negatively, Greg continued: “So that's something you picked
up from hanging around Krishnas... how to con, to cheat. There was a moment of silence as
Ken pondered this information, his fare screwed up in some conflict. Sandy, reacting
perhaps to Ken's struggle to assimilate this information, talked about the dangers of
chanting. “It can be damaging to the thought processes.” He then noted the similarity
between speaking in tongues and chanting (both can be used as a “mind block”) as he
attempted to explain the research on sensory deprivation and the physiological need for
stimulation.
The deprogrammers then began pointing out Prabhupada's moral inconsistencies.
Prabhupada stated that it is not cheating to lie when fund-raising, as long as the fund-raiser
does not keep the money for himself --if he keeps the money, then it is cheating. Ken
responded again by citing doctrine. Greg confronted him on ISKCON‟s use of
“transcendental trickery” during their food distribution campaigns. Krishnas would collect
money, then use only part of it to buy old food. On the one hand it is spiritually and morally
acceptable to trick people to get their message through, yet “... before, we were talking
about spirituality as including total honesty...” At this point Bobbi Stem, who had been silent
for some time, began supporting her husband's disclosures with similar tales from ex-
Krishna clients. In a move that seemed partly designed to authenticate his ex-Krishna
“credentials,” Greg then gave Ken a sample of what he labeled his fund-raising “rap.”
Ken's retreat. When the deprogrammers seemed finished, Ken refuted then in an involved
and personal way, by denying that he had done any transcendental trickery. “I never lied ...
whatever I said was always true.” Greg: “OK, maybe you didn't but you were representing
an organization that ...” Ken finished the thought “... whose members did.”
Curt then added his heaviest confrontation to date. ISKCON leaders engage in
transcendental trickery, and whether or not Ken did it is not the issue. The (ISKCON)
movement does it, and Ken's denial is “God damn lying through your teeth ...and you're
covering their ass ...you're trying to minimize that deception ...yeah, and I'm pissed
because you sit there and you act so innocent when you know damn well that that's what‟s
happening in the movement. If you want to associate yourself with a movement that‟s
deceptive at its core, yeah, that‟s your choice. But don't try to claim that its some type of
higher spiritual understanding.” Silence hung heavy in the room, and Ken looked shocked
and caught off guard. The silence was at last broken by Curt “I'm sorry, I don't mean to get
heavy with you but I just get upset because.. Ken tried to complete Curt‟s thought: “It‟s
part of your job.” Curt denied it “No, it‟s not part of my job it's my true feelings, I get
upset...”
Ken seemed to back down a little. Curt listened intently as the cultist admitted that the
Krishnas do believe the ends justify the means, the ends are spiritual but the means often
are not. Ken: The goal is to make people God-conscious, but the means are not.” Curt
“Exactly, and I don't know if you, before you got involved in this movement, prescribed [sic]
to that [ends justifying means argument], because you're making a big assumption ...that
what you've got is of God! What if it isn‟t? ...One of the main ways to test if something is of
God is by the fruits that it bears ...Truth is truth, man, and it shouldn't have to be
propagated by deception.”
Curt attacked ISKCON's justification for using “transcendental trickery.” Because we are so
caught up in maya (the “world of illusion”), the Krishnas believe we often have to be tricked
into seeing the truth. This is the same logic used by other cults to justify their acts of
deception.
