Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1989, Page 54
popularity (despite or perhaps because of the fact that he was so “fallen”). As John talked,
Ken used what he knew to flesh out some of the latter's story. The tape was stopped, and
the deprogrammers along with Ken discussed how going to India is supposed to be a
purifying experience, yet many Krishnas returned from these pilgrimages feeling and
looking much worse physically. Curt then asked Ken if he had ever read any version of the
Gita other than the official ISKCON version (“related by Prabhupada). Ken stated that he
was aware that five other versions existed, but he had not read any of them. Curt looked
intensely into Ken's eyes: “Prabhupada‟s [Bhagavad Gita] As It Is is all purport..that's all it
is, it's all interpretation.” Curt then referred to a comparative study on the various versions
of the Oita written by a former devotee. Curt quoted at length from the report‟s author: “My
purpose in writing this paper is to get you to look at Prabhupada's Bhagavad Gita from
another perspective, to show how Prabhupada's Bhagavad Gita is different, and to get to
the root of these inconsistencies.” Ken listened, fascinated, then questioned the background
of the author. In a stroke of great fortune, the author turned out to be a former devotee
with whom Ken had cursory familiarity somehow, this fact made the author (and the
author's opinions) more real, more valid for Ken.
Revelation. Curt continued to read Ken continued to listen. When Curt got to a section in
which Prabhupada‟s Gita states that the true master's spiritual home “is not illuminated by
the sun or moon, nor by electricity ...” he stopped. Again looking intensely at Ken, Curt
spoke softly: “... the word “electricity” did not exist in 400 B.C., nor did electricity [as a
force known to mankind] itself exist at that time.” Curt had inadvertently triggered a long-
suppressed doubt in Ken, and the cultist became almost manic in his response: “I thought
about that! I ...I often wondered about that myself. How could the saints have used that
language ...if the Gita's written 5,000 years ago, how would they write about electricity? It
didn't exist!” This single confirmation of an apparently pivotal doubt, coming when it did,
seemed to be a last straw for Ken. He now had proof that his spiritual master had taken
liberties with the holy text upon which the entire Hare Krishna movement was based.
Totalistic thought systems are based on the premise that their truth is the only truth, and
the entire truth. It is an “all or nothing” mentality, with room for not even one error. Under
the right circumstances, proof of even one such mistake can crumble the entire edifice of
the belief system like tumbling dominoes.
Curt drove the point home: “You see, that's Prabhupada puttin' in „electricity‟.” Even Greg
became incredulous (he had not heard of this inconsistency): “You're kidding.” With a
sarcastic sneer he added: “There's a Sanskrit word for „electricity‟?” Curt reread the quote,
as both Greg and Sandy broke up with laughter. Greg asked if any of the other versions of
the Gita contained a Sanskrit word translated as “electricity ” they did not. Brian added that
the word “Electricity” did not have a Sanskrit or Bengali counterpart Greg remained
incredulous: “I can't believe it! Nobody ever caught that before!” Ken, still reeling from the
intellectual impact of the “electricity revelation,” then recalled another suppressed
discrepancy: he had heard a story about Prabhupada's conflict with his father. It seemed
Prabhupada's father had suggested that the guru take a homely wife in the hope that this
would make his future vow of chastity an easier one to follow. Prabhupada balked at this
notion, as he preferred a highly attractive woman for his wife, this from a spiritual master
who later condemned feminine beauty and sensuality as demonic! Or, as Ken noted, “[if]
Prabhupada's a pure devotee, why was he so eager and ready to marry this ...beautiful
woman? It was her beauty [and not her “spirituality”] that attracted him!” As the
deprogrammers laughed, Curt excitedly replied. “Hey, there you go! You're thinking now,
Jackson!” Ken's smile stretched from ear to ear “It‟s something, a thought that I never
actually, I never confronted the questions in my mind because that would appear as a
blasphemy... [I was caught in] a Catch 22, you know?”

Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1989, Page 55
Second Day: The Snap
Ken decides to leave ISKCON. It was at this point that Ken, in another gush of excited
speech, made his first verbal declaration to leave ISKCON for good. “I've already made my
decision. I'm finished with this ...” But now he wanted more: “I'd like to just go on ...for
the purpose of study ...I just want to see this [material], to study it …” Curt was thrilled
“Oh, well yeah, I think you need to! We've got so much here!”
By now, what had started as an “involuntary” or “coerced” deprogramming had developed
into a voluntary situation, in which Ken no longer fought that information or the individuals
wielding it, but rather sought it out on his own. Ken was there because he wanted to be
there, and would remain because he wanted to remain, because he wanted to consider the
new information the deprogrammers had available.
As Ken began reading some of the material Curt had in his notebook, he talked sporadically
about other gurus both he and Greg knew. Eventually the conversation returned to guru
Jayatirtha, with Greg and Ken being the primary speakers. The level and quality of the self-
disclosures appeared to be relatively high. As I listened to Ken, I was struck with how
connected to his experiences he seemed at this juncture. Ken seemed to be reacting on a
“gut” and not merely an intellectual level to contradictions and deceptions in ISKCON.
Although the content of Ken's speech (largely self-disclosures was not very different from
other points in the deprogramming, the quality seemed changed. The difference seemed to
be that he revealed himself with greater feeling. This heightened level of affect seemed to
be the bridge connecting Ken's thinking (his intellectual realization of ISKCON, falsehoods)
to his actual behavior (devotee religious practices). Meanwhile, I wondered what Ken would
do further to “officially” repudiate ISKCON. The climax came in an unexpectedly low-key
manner, and took me by surprise. Following some joking surrounding a devotee who was
mistakenly given a Hindu name that translated to “stool,” Greg nonchalantly reminded Ken
of his sika. “There's something sticking out the back of your head.” With an equally
nonchalant manner, Ken asked Greg: “You want to cut it off?” “I would be honored,” the
deprogrammer replied. It was only as Greg cut away at Ken's sika that the reality of this
event seemed to sink in. Ken's speech became intense and pressed, and he sounded both
nervous and excited.
Ken's new distaste for ISKCON was strong enough to prompt him to declare that he would
like to “go out” and “preach against ISKCON.” Greg noted that dinner time had been
reached some time ago, and the topic of conversation shifted to a discussion of what to eat.
While still unwilling to eat meat, Ken did agree to eat vegetarian spaghetti with onion and
garlic sauce. Garlic is forbidden by ISKCON. Bobbi went downstairs with Ken's dinner order.
As we waited for dinner, the discussion returned to Transcendental Meditation and its cult-
like aspects. While discussing how chanting induces hypnosis, Ken again displayed his
apparently renewed ability to think and associate quickly: “It's not what you chant it‟s the
chanting itself” that was destructive. This realization seemed to demonstrate Ken's renewed
ability to extrapolate. As dinner was prepared downstairs, the deprogrammers and Ken
began to discuss what life after leaving ISKCON might be like, with particular emphasis paid
to inoculating against floating and feelings of loneliness.
Late dinner. Bobbi returned shortly with dinner, and soon all were filling their plates. The
discussion continued as we ate. Ken talked about not wanting to get into another organized
religion. The deprogrammers seemed to understand Ken's consternation, reminding him
that he would be free to make his own decision and that he should be patient with himself.
Ken began reminiscing about New York City's San Genaro festival. The discussion turned to
a consideration of morals and ethics: what love entails, and the basis of ethical systems. I
noticed how Ken began to demonstrate increased interest in his deprogrammers as people
(a sign of increased identification?). He began to ask Curt some questions about his