Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1989, Page 52
Krishnas, but that he still believed in the validity of the philosophy and would practice Hare
Krishna theology independently, on his own.
At this point, Curt called everyone's attention to the fact that the tape was finally ready, and
he began to play it. The tape proved to be a recitation of a long list of ISKCON philosophical
fallacies. First John assailed ISKCON's negative view of democracy (which, according to the
Krishnas, is “mob rule”). John then talked about ISKCON's astronomy, which has numerous
fallacies. The sun, for example, is said to be only 18,000 miles away while the moon is over
1 million miles away eclipses, then, are caused by spirit planets blocking out the sun.
ISKCON also claims that it is impossible to get past the atmosphere and therefore the space
program is a sham. I found it difficult to comprehend the amount of distortion that would be
necessary to accept these beliefs as fact, and I wondered aloud about how ISKCON
explained satellite TV and weather reports, phone links, the space shuttle, etc. Due to his
isolation in ISKCON, Ken knew nothing about the shuttle. We then returned to the tape as
John described how ISKCON preached that a nuclear war was inevitable, and that following
this war, ISKCON would take over and kill anyone not chanting Hare Krishna.
As Curt played the tape, he often stopped it to underscore or comment on John's remarks.
Ken was amazed, because he had heard the same stories (e.g., about Krishnas surviving
nuclear explosions, or killing non-Krishnas), and this shared experience seemed to greatly
underscore the validity of John's criticisms. Discussion then moved to Prabhupada's
comments on Hitler (that Hitler was bad only because he failed). At this point Sandy and
Brian came back upstairs and rejoined the conversation. After listening briefly, they
compared the growth of ISKCON to the historical course of Nazism and Communism. Curt
then returned to John's testimony. John was now delineating guru Jayatirtha's inappropriate
behavior: his experimentation with LSD, and his sexual exploits.
Self-disclosures and laughter. John's criticisms of Jayatirtha made Ken grimace. The
direct criticism of a guru chipped away at Ken's own suppressed conflicts with his guru or
spiritual master. It secretly angered Ken when his guru would reply to statements implying
criticism or discontent with “I'm a disciple of Prabhupada. I am your spiritual superior. You
should not speak to me like this.” Ken talked about how he hated his guru's argument for
not dealing with “negativity.” He noted with distaste how Krishna doctrine states that when
a devotee has a conflict with his spiritual superior, the devotee is supposed to take the
blame, feel guilty, and ask for forgiveness. Ken recalled how “going to the beach myself was
so pleasurable for him, and how ISKCON constantly criticized him for actually enjoying an
activity about which he was supposed to feel guilty. With these statements, Ken seemed to
reach a new depth in his reevaluation of his experiences in ISKCON. These comments
constituted considerable self- disclosure for a devotee. Greg seemed to be listening
intensely, while Curt occasionally interjected comments on how Ken's statements were
illustrative of totalism. Ken seemed to be relating a lot of suppressed feelings and conflicts
at this point, and in retrospect this conversation seemed to predict the “snap” that would
follow shortly.
Greg responded to Ken's self-disclosures with more about his own similar experiences. He
noted that he was considered an especially good devotee, with a reputation for working
hard, yet he would return to the temple each day feeling anguished. Then he would spot a
devotee who did little or no work “for Krishna” that day, yet seemed happier. Greg would
wonder just who had attained spiritual bliss. Again using walks along the beach as an
example, Ken commented on how he generally felt most at peace “on the days I was most
in maya,” when he was violating ISKCON miles. Greg seemed to take this admission as a
sign that it was time to ask a most difficult question: Did Ken keep his celibacy vows?
Hesitantly, Ken admitted that after 6 months, he masturbated. The difficulty Ken had with
this admission was evident in his strained voice and his downward stare. Interestingly, the
deprogrammers took Ken's admission lightly, perhaps worried that allowing Ken to stay with
Krishnas, but that he still believed in the validity of the philosophy and would practice Hare
Krishna theology independently, on his own.
At this point, Curt called everyone's attention to the fact that the tape was finally ready, and
he began to play it. The tape proved to be a recitation of a long list of ISKCON philosophical
fallacies. First John assailed ISKCON's negative view of democracy (which, according to the
Krishnas, is “mob rule”). John then talked about ISKCON's astronomy, which has numerous
fallacies. The sun, for example, is said to be only 18,000 miles away while the moon is over
1 million miles away eclipses, then, are caused by spirit planets blocking out the sun.
ISKCON also claims that it is impossible to get past the atmosphere and therefore the space
program is a sham. I found it difficult to comprehend the amount of distortion that would be
necessary to accept these beliefs as fact, and I wondered aloud about how ISKCON
explained satellite TV and weather reports, phone links, the space shuttle, etc. Due to his
isolation in ISKCON, Ken knew nothing about the shuttle. We then returned to the tape as
John described how ISKCON preached that a nuclear war was inevitable, and that following
this war, ISKCON would take over and kill anyone not chanting Hare Krishna.
As Curt played the tape, he often stopped it to underscore or comment on John's remarks.
Ken was amazed, because he had heard the same stories (e.g., about Krishnas surviving
nuclear explosions, or killing non-Krishnas), and this shared experience seemed to greatly
underscore the validity of John's criticisms. Discussion then moved to Prabhupada's
comments on Hitler (that Hitler was bad only because he failed). At this point Sandy and
Brian came back upstairs and rejoined the conversation. After listening briefly, they
compared the growth of ISKCON to the historical course of Nazism and Communism. Curt
then returned to John's testimony. John was now delineating guru Jayatirtha's inappropriate
behavior: his experimentation with LSD, and his sexual exploits.
Self-disclosures and laughter. John's criticisms of Jayatirtha made Ken grimace. The
direct criticism of a guru chipped away at Ken's own suppressed conflicts with his guru or
spiritual master. It secretly angered Ken when his guru would reply to statements implying
criticism or discontent with “I'm a disciple of Prabhupada. I am your spiritual superior. You
should not speak to me like this.” Ken talked about how he hated his guru's argument for
not dealing with “negativity.” He noted with distaste how Krishna doctrine states that when
a devotee has a conflict with his spiritual superior, the devotee is supposed to take the
blame, feel guilty, and ask for forgiveness. Ken recalled how “going to the beach myself was
so pleasurable for him, and how ISKCON constantly criticized him for actually enjoying an
activity about which he was supposed to feel guilty. With these statements, Ken seemed to
reach a new depth in his reevaluation of his experiences in ISKCON. These comments
constituted considerable self- disclosure for a devotee. Greg seemed to be listening
intensely, while Curt occasionally interjected comments on how Ken's statements were
illustrative of totalism. Ken seemed to be relating a lot of suppressed feelings and conflicts
at this point, and in retrospect this conversation seemed to predict the “snap” that would
follow shortly.
Greg responded to Ken's self-disclosures with more about his own similar experiences. He
noted that he was considered an especially good devotee, with a reputation for working
hard, yet he would return to the temple each day feeling anguished. Then he would spot a
devotee who did little or no work “for Krishna” that day, yet seemed happier. Greg would
wonder just who had attained spiritual bliss. Again using walks along the beach as an
example, Ken commented on how he generally felt most at peace “on the days I was most
in maya,” when he was violating ISKCON miles. Greg seemed to take this admission as a
sign that it was time to ask a most difficult question: Did Ken keep his celibacy vows?
Hesitantly, Ken admitted that after 6 months, he masturbated. The difficulty Ken had with
this admission was evident in his strained voice and his downward stare. Interestingly, the
deprogrammers took Ken's admission lightly, perhaps worried that allowing Ken to stay with
