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International Cultic Studies Association
 Department: Group Report - Hare Krishna

C/S Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001

Hare Krishna: news articles 

ISKCON in the News Articles from the Cult Observer 1984-1999 

1984 

June 

Krishna Assets (p. 7) Robin George and her mother, Marcia, can collect $9.7 million in damages, awarded them in June from the Hare Krishnas for Robin's kidnapping and brainwashing in 1974, from any company newly formed by the sect. Superior Court Judge James A. Jackman ruled in Santa Ana, California, on April 27, that the Krishnas had fraudulently formed "alter ego" corporations in an effort to conceal assets and prevent a complete settlement payoff.

Krishna at the Airport (p. 26-27) Regulation in effect since 1980 requiring registration, proof of affiliation, and limitation to eight 48-hour permitted locations have dramatically reduced solicitations at Washington D.C.'s National "port, once the scene of repeated complaints from travelers of harassment by groups such as the Hare Krishnas. Permits may allow requests for donations or only distribution of literature, and canvassers are required to stay away from ticket lines and refrain from following people. A Krishna public affairs director denied that the rules forced his group's move, and said that they now stress mailings, and prefer canvassing door-to-door and at universities and public monuments. Groups still frequenting the airport include the nondenominational Pocket Testament League and Lyndon LaRouche's International Caucus of Labor Committees.

Zoning (p. 8) The Hawaii Supreme Court has declined to review a case involving a zoning ordinance prohibiting more than five unrelated persons from occupying a house. It thereby affirmed a trial court's injunction barring the Hare Krishnas from using a house as a residence even though it was also used as a church. 

September 

ISKCON (p.20) According to the London Daily Express for May 22, actress Hayley Mills, daughter of Sir John Mills, joined the Hare Krishnas shortly after her recent breakup with a close friend. 

In 1979 ISKCON purchased Croome Court, an 18th Century mansion with parks designed by the famous landscape gardener Capability Brown, for L300,000. The Birmingham Evening Mail and the Worcester Evening News for June 7 report that the property, extensively restored, is being offered for sale at L750,000 by the Krishnas, who are moving their headquarters to Watford. 

Krishna Bombed (p.16) Two bombs exploded at a suburban Philadelphia Hare Krishna complex on June 17 damaging a stairway and shattering numerous windows. The bombs, consisting of mason jars filled with gasoline, were sparked by small batteries. Local Krishna officials said they knew of no motive for the attack, but added that the group has attracted "self-declared enemies" whose views were "anti-cult." Neither the Krishnas nor other observers suspects that the bombs were set by the group's neighbors, whose complaints about early morning chanting and Krishna invitations to local children to attend free dinners, moved the Krishnas some time ago to make their rituals quieter and to curtail certain community activities. 

Krishna Return Child (p. 17) A Canadian child abducted by her father three years ago to live among the Hare Krishnas was returned to her mother in late June. Julie Chapados, 11, rejoined her mother Carol in Laval, Quebec, while her father, Marcel Servant, is being held in nearby Montreal to face kidnapping charges. 

Throughout Mrs. Chapados's long search for her daughter, the Krishnas denied any knowledge of Julie's whereabouts, and at one point said that her father was no longer with the group. But police reported that when they identified Mr. Servant in Calgary, Alberta, he was driving a van registered to the Krishnas and carrying a passenger who is a member of the organization. Authorities also said that Julie was, in fact, living at a Krishna Center near Calgary, and that the Krishnas arranged to deliver her to local social workers on the advice of their Toronto attorney, who had been contacted by police following her father's arrest. The arresting officer told the Montreal Sunday Express that he thought the Krishnas were accomplices to kidnapping after the fact, "But who could we charge? To prove it against one person, that's the point. I don't think we could do that."

Mrs. Chapados told the press that she was especially grateful for help given in her efforts to find Julie by Mike Kropveld, head of Montreal's Hillel Cult Project.

October

 Krishnaland Planned (p. 15) 

The Hare Krishna movement plans to build a "Temple of Understanding," 20 times larger than the Palace of Gold already in place in the hills of West Virginia, as part of an extensive "Krishnaland" complex there. Srila Bhaktipada, the first American Krishna disciple and founder of the Palace of Gold, unveiled the plans to Krishna followers from the East Indian professional community of Columbus, Ohio, during the city's first Hari Nam festival earlier this year. The temple, as long as three football fields and 148 feet tall at its highest point, will include visitor facilities, a theater, a planetarium and formal gardens, and will cost about $25 million, with the Krishnas doing most of the work themselves. "You can worship God under a tree," said Bhaktipada, -[But] nobody visits you if you sit under a tree." He added that construction is expected to begin next year and take five to ten years to complete, but "if someone ... wants to donate a large amount of money, it will go faster." The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, 8/5/84

Krishnas on the Mall  (p. 10) The food is free and the tents, colorful, but a parent from a local chapter of the Citizens Freedom Foundation said students should beware before they accept anything from Hare Krishnas, who are in Madison with their "Festival of India" on the Library Mall. 

The parent, who was interviewed under the condition that she not be identified, said despite the Krishnas' claim that they are in town to sell paintings and hand out free food, they are on campus only to recruit what she labels as "slaves" for the group. 

"They're told to be there, when and where to go, what to do and when to do it and how to do it," she said. "They cannot think. They are just literally robots. They are programmed."

Janakinath das, curator of the Museum of Vedic Culture and emcee for the event, said the accusations of brainwashing and mind control are unfounded. 

"People can charge, but our business here is not to proselytize. In fact, the Hare Krishna movement has never been found to be a proselytizing, brainwashing group, only we’ve been advertised like that," he said. 

The parent said Krishnas are looking for a particular type of student. "They're looking for the very naive young person who is probably a loner, probably at a low point in their life, probably having a little trouble adjusting to school, a person who is open to new ideas, very intelligent, idealistic, inquisitive, and a little insecure." 

The parent said she was on the mail today handing out literature from the CFF on cults and how to avoid them, The CFF is a non-profit nationwide organization that provides education on the behavior of cults and provides emotional support for families who have a member involved in a cult. 

Roger Howard, University Assistant Dean of Students, said the University has not informed students of the alleged dangers of the Krishna group because there have been no substantial problems of students being entrapped by Krishnas. "We have had no evidence that significant numbers of students are being harassed by cults, ' 

Howard said that if students are concerned about cults like the Hare Krishnas, they can call the Campus Ministry or listen to a Campus Assistance Center tape which deals with cults on campus. 

Some scenes at the event differed little from an afternoon with Sister Pat. In many places, students debated and asked questions of Krishnas on their basic beliefs, and often found that their questions were subverted or left unanswered. 

"He avoids all the answers," said Joel Chechak, an exasperated debater. "They turn your questions around completely." 

The Krishna contention that a man is in every way superior to a woman was another belief that raised some ire among the listeners. 

One Krishna told a woman that if a man were reincarnated and came back as a woman, he would have taken a step backward. 

A Krishna woman expressed her adherence to this tenet. 

"Well, it's true to a certain extent. In this age, everything is topsy-turvey. So it's like you might have women that have more qualities than men. You might have women that are less intelligent than men. But as a rule, usually, women are less intelligent," she said. 

As a way of expressing their purity, Krishnas are also vegetarians and are offering free samples of such dishes as poppers, urhd beans, chick peas, and other vegetarian dishes from Vedic culture, which Krishna adherents claim began some 5000 years ago. 

The Festival of India will move to Chicago after its close tonight at 7 p.m., then will be at the University of Illinois at Champaign. Janakinath das estimated the cost of the three stops at around $10,000. 

Janakinath das also estimated the number of monastic members of the Hare Krishnas to be 10,000. Monastic Krishnas wear the familiar orange gowns and shaved heads. He equates the monastics to Catholicism's monks. 

The bill for the three stops will be picked up by contributions from the Hare Krishna's 200,000 supporting members, among them Alfred Ford, great grandson of Henry Ford, the Detroit automobile mogul.  The story is reprinted with permission, from the Sept. 20, 1984 issue of the University of Wisconsin (Madison) Daily Cardinal. 

 Rock Star Shuns Krishnas (p. 11) The London Standard for September 13 reports that British rock musician Boy George, who had been friendly with devotees of the Hare Krishna movement over the past five years, said that he finally lost patience with the group when he realized that "all they wanted to do was get me into pictures with them for publicity purposes. That kind of thing makes me see red."

1985 

February/March 

Custody Law Applied to Krishnas (p. 15) A family in Spain recently removed their son from a Krishna temple by means of a revised custody law whereby a family can apply to a judge on grounds of a family member's being "incapacitated, physically or mentally, to govern himself." The family decided that the law applied to their situation after consulting an attorney experienced in cult cases, and filed the application. In late September, an official party including a judge, a lawyer and a court psychiatrist, escorted by police, arrived at the Krishna farm to serve the custody order and to take the young man with them. ISKCON officials reportedly were caught by surprise, since this law had never before been applied to one of their members. The outcome of the young man's two-month separation from the group, as ordered by the judge, is not yet known.

 Krishna Convicted (p. 10) A member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been convicted of causing a disturbance after blocking the path of a university student walking along Yonge Street in Toronto. The unidentified woman was sentenced to 25 hours of community service and three months probation in Provincial Court. 

"This is a landmark decision," said Ian Haworth, president of the Council on Mind Abuse (COMA), a Toronto-based organization that works to educate the public about the problem of destructive cults. "We regard this as a very useful precedent to stop sect members from approaching people without their consent. " 

University of Toronto student Marcel Weider told the Toronto Star that he was walking on Yonge Street in July when a woman in her 30s stepped out in front of me and... persisted in blocking my path while giving me her pitch line." Weider, 23, said he complained to a policeman after he realized the woman was a Hare Krishna trying to raise money. From the Toronto Star, 11/16/84, p. C13.

Krishna Santa "Misleading But Not Illegal" (p. 8) Krishna Santa requesting donations from passing motorists in Seattle. Seattle Times Photo. A representative of ISKCCN - the International Society for Krishna Consciousness - dressed in a Santa Claus suit collected about $50 a day from motorists in Seattle during December. Gary S. Wright told drivers stopping at an intersection that he was collecting money for "Food for Life," a Los Angeles-based charity whose purpose is to "feed hungry people." But George Delianedis, principal investigator for the Los Angeles Department of Social Services, said that Food for Life does not exist. It is also not registered with the Consumer Affairs Licensing Division of the city of Seattle, nor with the Charitable Solicitations Division of the Washington secretary of state's office. 

Delianedis said that Wright was misleading the public. "When you solicit money for charity you've got to tell people] ... who you are. You owe the public full disclosure. It sounds to me like you've got someone... hustling," he said, adding that in California, Wright's actions would make him guilty of a misdemeanor. However, Washington state Assistant Attorney General Hay Uchida said that ISKCON is exempt from the requirements of the state Charitable Solicitations Act because it is a religious group, protected by the First Amendment. Uchida termed Wright's soliciting misleading, but not illegal."  From the Seattle Times, 12/19/84, p. B2. 

Krishnas Asked to Pay Taxes (p. 8)

The Dade County, FL, Tax Appraiser's Office is demanding that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Miami Beach chapter pay $27,303.07 in 1984 property taxes on the Boardwalk Hotel. The Krishnas bought the hotel several years ago and converted it into a temple and a rent-free residence for Krishnas studying for the priesthood. 

The county has, for the third straight year, rejected Krishna petitions for a tax exemption, questioning the group's tax exempt status and whether the building is used primarily for religious purposes.  

"The burden of proof is on the taxpayer to show they are entitled to an exemption," said Assistant County Attorney Daniel Weiss. The county has also asked why the building's title is under the name of Bhaktivedanta Title Holding Corp. of Miami Beach Inc. Hayward Bradnian, attorney for the Krishnas, said that Bhaktivedanta is a holding corporation set up to simplify church bookkeeping. 

The special master, an impartial taxing arbitrator who reports to the Property Appraisal Adjustment Board, will have to rule on the case early this year. Each of the past two years, the special master has denied the Krishnas an exemption, and the Krishnas have refused to pay and have sued the county. Those cases are pending before separate circuit court judges.  From the Miami Herald, 11/29/84. 

"Where is Joey?" Reprinted (p. 30) "Where is Joey?: Lost Among the Hare Krishnas,"  

Mr. Yanoff writes: "Books like mine have taken on new importance since Pres. Reagan signed the bill which gives access to public schools by religious groups. The destructive cults will take full advantage: young people will need to be inoculated. A gift to a high school or college student will make interesting reading; more than that, it will prepare him/her to confront any cult with informed skepticism. " Cult Observer Report

April

 City Funds Krishna Meals for Needy (p. 9) The Hare Krishnas of Cleveland have instituted what is probably the nation's first government-funded vegetarian meals-on-wheels program, called Food For Life, to feed the city's poor. The program, approved by the City Council in July after nine months of discussions, began with a budget of $20,000 from the city, and will probably have served 60,000 meals by the end of its budget year.

Food For Life director Tapahpunja Swami said that the program was developed with the help of the late Councilman Lonnie Burden, in whose ward the meals are served. Burden was a regular patron of the Krishnas' now defunct chain of vegetarian restaurants.  From the Akron (OH) Beacon Journal, Dec. 23, 1984.

George Hamilton Sells Home to Krishnas (p.  17) On March 1, movie star George Hamilton sold his stately antebellum home in Church Hill, Mississippi, to the Old South Society of Vedic Life, a branch of the Hare Krishnas. Nico Kuyt, a representative of the group, says the mansion, known as The Cedars, will be made into a museum propagating the group's philosophy. "Since people are interested in antebellum homes, we will use that as an entry point," he said. "We'll fill the house ... with exhibits... that convey a different philosophical and cultural message." From the Hutchinson News, Mar. 3, 1985, p. 26. 

Krishna Ad Fraud (p. 7) The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Canada) has been fined $1,500 for the door-to-door peddling of phony paintings.

Judge Jacques Letourneau of Sessions Court in Longueuil imposed the fine after finding the religious sect guilty of false representation following complaints from the Quebec Consumer Protection Office. 

The consumer organization said a sect member identifying himself as an art student at Montreal's School of Fine Arts sold four paintings for $140 to a South Shore housewife in October 1983 after telling her that the works were originals done by a group of fellow art students. 

The woman later realized that the pictures were in fact cheap reproductions imported from Asia. 

The Krishna Society was also convicted of failing to draw up an itinerant sales contact.  Montreal Gazette, Mar. 13, 1985. 

Krishna Defends Santa Pose (p. 6) Krishna Santa Collects in Seattle Seattle Times Photo 

In a letter to the Editor of the Miami Herald, Bhagavata Dasa of the Miami Beach Hare Krishna temple defended the Krishnas' practice of soliciting funds during the Christmas season while dressed in Santa Claus suits. Responding to a Dec. 9 letter by Rabbi Rubin Dobin, Dasa said that solicitors wear badges that identify them as members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a tax-exempt organization, no matter how they are dressed.

 "Santa Claus is a Russian and German saint who has been adopted by all people in this country, no matter what their race, color, or creed," said Dasa. He likened the Krishnas to the Salvation Army, which collects money at Christmas for its charitable programs. "We distribute literature and food, and we also have buildings, vehicles, and volunteers to maintain," he said. "To do this we also collect donations as Santa Claus. The money is used for the same good work." 

In reply to Rabbi Dobin's charge that the Krishnas engage in "deceptive and illegal fundraising, " Dasa said that such allegations probably came "from some anti-cult book that quoted a deprogrammed devotee after he was beaten into submission." From the Miami Herald, ]an. 20, 1985. 

May

 Krishnas' Soliciting: Religion or Fraud Debated in Suit (p. 6) Contending that their Constitutional rights to free religious expression are being violated, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has filed suit challenging the prohibition of leafletting and solicitation at JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports. But the defendants, including the New York Port Authority and several airlines, are countering ISKCON's contention by asserting that the Krishnas' airport activities are fraudulent in nature and have nothing to do with sincere religious beliefs.

Searching for evidence to back up their charge, the defendants served ISKCON with "a vast body of interrogatories," or legal questions, requesting detailed information about ISKCON's membership, property, and finances, in some instances for the past eighteen years. The Krishnas filed suit for a protective order relieving them of the obligation to respond to the interrogatories. The court held that the defendants had not shown sufficient need for the information sought, and the motion in ISKCON's favor was granted on Feb. 27. 

ISKCON objected to the interrogatories on the grounds that they were unusually burdensome and oppressive, that the information sought was irrelevant to the case, and that compliance with the requests would infringe upon its constitutionally protected religious liberty and associational privacy rights. The defendants argued that the information sought is needed to show the true nature of the activities in which ISKCON wishes to engage at the airports. The court, however, held that the extensive inquiry into membership and finances might have a "chilling" effect on ISKCON's practice of its First Amendment activities, and that protection is particularly needed because the group's beliefs are so unpopular. 

In addition, ISKCON asserted, and the court concurred, that the issues in the case are (1) whether the airlines' policy constitutes state action, (2) whether the terminals are public spaces suitable for First Amendment activities, and, if so, (3) whether defendants' prohibition of all soliciting and leafletting is an overbroad limitation on First Amendment activities. The court found the interrogatories irrelevant to these issues.  From the Religious Freedom Reporter, Feb. 1985, pp. 32-33. 

September

 Krishna Woman Sues Over Deprogramming (p. 9) A Hare Krishna member has filed a federal civil rights suit for damages and an injunction against her parents and the deprogrammers they allegedly hired to abduct her. She claims that she was held against her will and abused physically, mentally, and emotionally, for a month before she escaped.

The complaint also names as defendants members of the Baltimore Police Department and the FBI, charging that they refused to pursue the case after it was learned that it involved a religious deprogramming, and refused to pursue the charges she made against those involved following her escape. A declaration is sought to the effect that any FBI policy of nonpursuance of kidnapping cases involving religious deprogramming "is outside the statutory and constitutional limits of prosecutorial discretion" and that such a policy is contrary to international law, convention, and treaties to which the U.S. is a party, and is therefore void. From the Religious Freedom Reporter, May 1985, p. 98. 

October

Court Rules Hare Krishnas May Solicit at Stadium (p. 14) Hare Krishna members do have the right to solicit donations around Anaheim Stadium, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on August 13. The court's decision overturned a ban on Krishna solicitations, and declared unconstitutional a city law requiring a permit for such actions on which the ban had been based.

The court based its decision on free speech protections in the California Constitution that are broader than similar provisions in the U.S. Constitution. U.S. Circuit Judge William Norris ruled that under the California Liberty of Speech Clause, the parking facilities and walkways of the city-owned stadium are  “public forums" in the same sense as streets, sidewalks and parks, and "must be open to expressive activity." From the Los Angeles Times, Aug. 14, 1985.

Deprogramming "'Must Be Stopped, " Says Lawyer for Watchdog Group (pp.14, 23)  "Deprogramming is the most direct assault on religious liberty in this country today. It must be stopped," says Lee Boothby, a lawyer with Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The religious watchdog group has filed suit in federal district court in Baltimore on behalf of 24-year-old Kimberly Gough, whose parents hired professional deprogrammers to try to force her to leave the Hare Krishnas. From the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, Jul. 20, 1985. 

November

Mayor Lauds Krishna Food Program (p. 8) Mayor Wilson Goode of Philadelphia was guest of honor at a May 29 ribbon-cutting ceremony which marked the opening of a Hare Krishna "Food for Life" center in that city.  

The Food for Life program, begun 18 years ago, now has centers in 12 major U.S. cities. The Philadelphia facility is paid for by private donations and funds from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, administered by the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless. Charlotte McLaughlin, whose Krishna name is Chandrika Devi Dasi, a member of the prominent Philadelphia Lippincott publishing family, is director of the shelter, which serves free vegetarian lunches and provides shelter for 18 homeless men. 

Mayor Goode, described as looking uncomfortable in a pink carnation lei placed around his neck by a devotee, praised the efforts of the Krishnas on behalf of the "homeless and the hungry."  From the Philadelphia Daily News, May 30, 1985.

1986

January/February

 Krishna Adopt-a-Cow Program (p. 12) In an appeal modeled after charities that help impoverished children, a central Pennsylvania dairy farm run by the Hare Krishnas is developing a program of cow care that is expected to attract funds from Hindus, vegetarians, and animal lovers.

The program is called Adopt-a-Cow. Contributions are tax-deductible and credit cards are accepted.  The program has three options, as described in ads in newspapers for ethnic Indians and in solicitation letters sent to 15,000 Hindus across the country.

 The $30-a-month package buys an 8-by-10 color photo of the cow, sweets made from its milk, newsletters on its birthday and on other occasions such as pregnancy, and a weekend "vacation" at the Juniata County cow farm. From The Denver Post Dec. 15, 1985

 Krishna Allegedly Attacks Leader to "Cleanse" Group (p. 12) Hare Krishna leaders from around the world gathered at New Vrindaban's Palace of Gold [near Moundsville, WVA) for a vigil as the "dean of the faith," Kirtanananda Bhaktipada, remained unconscious and in critical condition yesterday. 

Bhaktipada was hospitalized with severe head wounds after he was attacked with an iron bar. Marshall County Sheriff Donald Bordenkircher said Hare Krishna member Mike Stockman, 28, was arrested. Stockman told officers he had acted to "cleanse the church," the Sheriff said. 

Bhaktipada, 48, is credited with building the Palace of Gold, an ornate temple that attracts thousands of tourists and devotees to New Vrindaban each year. About 600 people live in the religious community. From the AP and USA Today Oct 31 and Nov. 1, 1985

March/April

Krishna Protest vs. Soviet (p. 31) The occasion of the recent Geneva Summit conference was used for a protest march along Lake Geneva by Krishna devotees, according to the Daily Telegraph of Nov. 30, 1985 They handed out cards stating that Krishnas are at present being held in Soviet prisons, labor camps, and psychiatric hospitals. Russian trials of Krishna devotees have been reported from as far apart as Siberia and Armenia. ISKCON in Russia exists in underground fashion, in secret private meetings. According to their statement in Geneva, there are 200 initiated members in the USSR plus 10,000 Soviet citizens who practice Krishna consciousness. 

Krishnas. Try Comeback (p. 5) On its twentieth anniversary in America, the followers of the Hare Krishna movement are diminished in number, less publicly visible, divided by quarreling leaders, and dependent on part-time devotees who wear conventional dress at outside jobs. But the movement seems to be surviving. 

The decline of the counter-culture, which fed recruitment and financed the once-lucrative incense business was a difficulty faced in the late 1970s, according to E. Burke Rochford, Jr., a Tulsa University sociologist and author of the recently published book, "Hare Krishna in America." The death of founder Swami Prabhupada in 1977 and the division of the mission field among 11 contentious gurus paralleled the decline in membership from 10,000 to 2,000. But the shift from full to part-time commitment, and the welcoming of Indian Hindus, has helped says, Rochford. 

Minnesota sociologist Thomas Robbins agrees with Rochford and the Krishnas themselves that the leadership split has hurt. "Some of the gurus let power and authority go to their head [sic]," creating disillusionment and cynicism, said the movements national director of interreligious affairs. All three agree that the "guru issue," which failed to resolve itself at a worldwide leadership meeting in West Virginia last summer, is the movement's biggest problem. From the Seattle Post Intelligencer Feb. 8, 1986

May/June

 Ex-Krishna Charged in Krishna Death (p. 28) Thomas Drescher, formerly a member of the Hare Krishna group, was charged in Moundsville, WVA yesterday with the May 22 shooting death of Stephen Bryant, a Hare Krishna devotee who was a persistent critic of the organization. Drescher was also arraigned on charges of criminal homicide in connection with the June 1983 shooting of Charles SL Dennis near the Krishna's New Vrindaban, WVA community.

Bryant's parents said that their son left New Vrindaban after a dispute with its founder, whom he tried to discredit, along with the Krishna religion itself Authorities said that Drescher and St. Denis, who both lived near New Vrindaban at the time using spiritual names, had been at odds over the sale of a house. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette June 6, 1986 

September

Ex-Krishna Abuser Gets 50 Years (p. 8) Former Hare Krishna member Kenneth Capoferri, 39, was given a maximum 50-year sentence yesterday for molesting four children at a West Los Angeles child-care center run by the sect where he worked from 1982-84. An attorney for the Hare Krishnas urged the maximum sentence "to purge our community of the feelings of outrage, pain, anxiety, and confusion" caused by the molestations, which are said to have created serious psychological problems for at least one of the affected children. From the Los Angeles Times July 17, 1986 

Killing Sparks Probe of Krishna Sect (pp. 4-7)  The recent slaying of a disenchanted Hare Krishna devotee who persistently alleged wrongdoing and deceit in the movement has sent new ripples through the divided Krishna community. 

Since the fatal shooting May 22 in Los Angels or Steve.Bryant, 33, and the arrest of a Krishna follower in the murder, plans for a broad investigation by a federal grand jury have been announced. Even the sect itself had decided to conduct an internal probe of possible wrong doing by Krishna members. 

Both Bryant's death and his allegations of wrong doing by Krishna  leaders will be examined by a federal grand jury in Moundsville, W. Va. That is the city nearest the 600-member commune and Indian-Style palace that is a showcase settlement for the 21year-old International Society for Krishna Consciousness. 

The Hindu sect, which drew on young Americans' fascination for Eastern meditation and chanting in the late 1960s, attracted between 5 000 and 10,000 followers in the first dozen years. But the movement has also been embroiled in legal battles over airport soliciting and parental charges of kidnapping vulnerable youth into the order. 

Authority Questioned

Internal conflict surfaced after the 1977 death of the sect's 82-year-old founder from India, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, when 11 gurus carved out areas of dominance.

Since then, members of a growing, internal reform movement - estimated to number about 300 Krishna believers -have questioned the authority of the leadership and accused some leaders of condoning or participating in immoral practices and physical intimidation of followers. Most of the self-styled reformers - which included Bryant - are initiates from the days of Prabhupada; Bryant was easily the most vocal among them. 

He had joined the street-chanting, saffron-robed sect in Detroit when he was 21. As. his disenchantment with the movement grew after Prabhupada's death, he began writing a book he called "The Guru Business," and he hoped to expose alleged wrongdoings by leaving hefty packets of photo copied "evidence" with law enforcement officials and newspapers across the country. 

Family Breakup

Bryant's crusade initially stemmed, by his own account, from the breakup of his family at the Krishnas' 4,000 acre New Vrindaban settlement - largest in the Krishna movement - which lies perched in the hills of West Virginia about 70 miles south of Pittsburgh, Pa. He attempted to prove that the guru-founder of New Vrindaban, Kirtananda Swami Bhaktipada (formerly Keith Ham), lured Bryant's wife into becoming a devotee several years ago, then helped her get a divorce and prevented Bryant's access to his two sons. Spokesmen for the community countered that Mrs. Bryant left her husband because she wanted to.  Bryant progressively broadened his attack by collecting interviews from others who charged that some among the movement's almost three dozen gurus manipulated devotees, broke up marriages, and allowed child abuse and drug trafficking - claims which the dissidents said went unacknowledged or were denied by the movement's various leaders. Bryant also challenged the legitimacy of the 11 gurus who immediately succeeded the founder. 

In the year before his death, Bryant tried to drum up support for his claims by traveling to West Virginia and California. Convinced that he was a marked man, he was constantly on the move, living out of his van and disguising his appearance. 

Krishna spokesmen denied Bryant's  accusations. An internal review by a special society committee last year concluded that his claims of wrongdoing were largely unfounded. And a New Vrindaban spokesman this month claimed that Bryant and like-minded supporters were not true devotees, that in fact Bryant "had not followed our religious practices for at least the last seven years." 

But Bryant's fellow dissidents continue to maintain that critics of the sect are in danger. Several followers said in interviews that they have been threatened themselves or have heard certain sect leaders mention violence as a way to deal with internal critics. 

According to a California member, who insisted on anonymity, when Bryant's name come up during a gathering of Krishna leaders in September at New Vrindaban, he heard a ranking commune member allegedly say: "That guy should be afraid. There are 250 residents here looking to blow his head off." 

And officials of the reform-oriented Berkeley temple announced early this month that they had received anonymous threats warning them to drop their attempt through federal court to gain control of the temple's assets. 

For the most part, dissidents interviewed gave information only on the condition that they not be identified by name, profession, or city of residence for fear of reprisals, they said, to themselves or their families. 

Spokesmen in the West Virginia Krishna community and a Los Angeles based guru all denied knowing of any threats to followers or non-members and, by contrast, insisted that nonviolence - even to the point of not killing animals or harming insects is an inviolable tenet of their faith. 

Nevertheless, Marshall County Assessor Alfred (Pinky) Clark, who is attempting to levy heavier taxes on the commercial aspects of New Vrindaban, said he obtained a gun permit and a revolver after hearing of Bryant's slaying. Clark, who lives within three miles of the commune, said he had received threats in the months before Bryant's death, and that a day laborer at the commune's farm told him after Bryant's death that "the talk was going around to 'get Clark! " 

"We're being very watchful and cautious, although things have quieted down since the announcement of a federal grand jury investigation," Clark said. 

Problem of Violence

Over the years, gurus and violence have presented a problem for some Krishna communities, although possession of the weapons has been defended by Krishna leaders as a defensive need.

Law enforcement authorities in 1980 found a variety of weapons at the Krishna farm of Berkeley guru Hansadutta (Hans Kary), and later confiscated an illegal submachine gun found in the trunk of a car used by the guru. Kary lost his position in 1984 after, a conviction on gunfire and felony vandalism charges for shooting up a storefront and car dealership. He has been living at New Vrindaban since then. 

Bhaktipada, when told by a Times -reporter in 1981 that one of his New Vrindaban devotees had recently bought a large number of weapons at local shops, said: "I have no objection to a certain number of persons in the community having weapons for self-protection. But they should be in the hands of cool, level-headed Krishnaconscious persons . . . If there is a need for violence, we can become violent." Several weeks later, Bhaktipada said the young man agreed to sell the guns "at my suggestion." 

Last October, the West 'Virginia guru was bludgeoned into a coma and hospitalized for 36 days by a former devotee, Michael C. Shockman, who is serving a 15-mondi prison term after pleading guilty to malicious wounding charges. 

Statements to Reporters

Only two months later, Bryant himself sent to reporters statements saying that death was scripturally justified for gurus guilty of the crimes he had been alleging. However, he disavowed any personal intent to carry out that threat or to conspire to kill anyone himself.

Bryant's own vocal belligerency and illegal possession of a gun landed him in the Moundsville jail in February. He staged a three-week hunger strike, writing to a Times reporter from jail on Feb. 15: "I've pretty much reached my rope's end in combating this domestic cult on my own and so I've decided to fast to death if I don't get some Gov't help." 

Bryant's lawyer on Moundsville, David R. Gold, later said: "I thought he was realistically hopeful that he would single-handedly be able to mobilize public opinion against the [New Vrindaban] community." Bryant was convicted for carrying an unregistered gun, which Gold said Bryant got for defensive purposes, then was released pending an appeal and returned to California. 

In the early morning hours of May 22, Bryant left a friend’s home in the Palms section of Los Angeles' Westside, telling him he was going to park his van down the block so as not to bring trouble to his friend's doorstep. "I try not to be paranoid, but it’s the least precaution I can take," his friend quoted Bryant as saying. Not long afterward, the friend said he heard two shots and ran outside to look, but then dismissed his fears that something had happened to Bryant. 

Later that morning, Bryant, known as Solucana to other devotees, was found shot twice in the head and slumped over the steering wheel of his parked car and locked van, according to authorities. 

Some of his friends told Los Angeles police to look for a man named Tirtha, the Krishna name for Thomas Arthur Drescher, 37, a onetime follower at New Vrindaban with a reputation for violent behavior. 

Five days later, Drescher was arrested in Kent, Ohio. The warrant for his arrest, however, was issued by West Virginia authorities in connection with the unsolved disappearance in 1983 of another former Krishna devotee, Charles St. Denis, from the New Vrindaban area. 

(Drescher was indicted earlier this month in Moundsville along with Krishna devotee Daniel Reid, 31, who is lodged in a Los Angeles jail, on first-degree murder charges based in witnesses' accounts of St. Denis' fate. The principal witness, Randol Gorby, was seriously injured in an explosion at his home the day after Drescher was apprehended in Ohio, authorities said. A number of commune members, according to their attorney, James B. Lees, have quietly cooperated with authorities since 1984 in the investigation of the St. Denis disappearance.) 

'Surveillance Notes'

Kent Police Detective Ronald Piatt and his partner said that when they arrested Drescher, they found on him 11 surveillance notes" describing Bryant's van, his physical appearance and his movements in Los Angeles. Drescher also carried $4,000 in cash.

With Drescher when he was arrested, said Piatt, was a Krishna priest from Cleveland who had clippings from three newspapers about the death of Bryant and written instructions of unknown origin saying that if Drescher were ever wanted by the police, he should be sent to a temple in New York, then flown to India. At the time of his arrest, Drescher's car was packed with clothing and other goods, and his rented mobile home was found nearly empty, Piatt said. 

"We think he was in the process of activating those plans [to leave the country]" Piatt said. 

The Krishna priest, Terry Shelden, was held for three days on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon - a hooked-blade utility knife - but the charged was dismissed. He has since disappeared from the Cleveland Temple and his whereabouts are unknown, Piatt said. 

The detective added that a fire of undetermined origin burned Drescher's mobile home July 5. 

Drescher is now in custody in West Virginia. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office is seeking to extradite him to California to stand trial for Bryant's murder. 

New Vrindaban officials have denied any connection with Bryant's death and characterized Drescher as a follower who fell from favor with the community three years ago. After living on his own property near New Vrindaban for several years, Drescher moved to northeast Ohio late last year. 

Apology From Jail

Swami Bhakdpada said Drescher wrote him from jail to apologize if he had caused the commune any difficulty. The guru said he responded with a short note advising Drescher "to chant the name of God and to depend on God's help and mercy."

New Vrindaban spokesman Dick Dezio said he welcomed the announced plans of U.S. Atty. William Kolibash to have a federal grand jury in Moundsville examine the murder of Bryant and the dissident's charges of illicit activity at New Vrindaban. 

Bhaktipada declared earlier that the investigation will show "we are religious people who have no other business but to worship God." 

Dezio accused Bryant of some of the same charges Bryant had leveled against the West Virginia commune - drug use, "a fetish for guns," child abuse, and threats of violence. 

"We have heard a lot of stories and a lot of claims, but no one has ever come forth with any evidence [about our community]," Dezio said. Regarding interviewed dissidents who declined to reveal their identities in print for fear of reprisals, Dezio said, "I don't know anyone within the movement who has to be feared." 

Charges by dissidents that a climate of fear prevails were also rejected by Los Angeles-based guru Ramesvara (Robert Grant), 35, who said that, other than Bryant's death, there has been "no incidents of violence against a disgruntled person" in his jurisdiction. Ramesvara, who is one of the original 11 successors to the society founder, supervises Southern California, parts of the Midwest, the New York area, Hawaii and Japan. 

"As far as I know, Steve Bryant didn't have any bad feelings toward myself and, similarly, I had no bad feeling toward him," Ramesvara said. "He wasn't disturbing us. He came and went very secretly. A number of our core members attended his funeral in Los Angeles; they wanted to show their sympathy and outrage." 

At the Berkeley temple, where another of Steve Bryant’s vehicles still sits in the parking lot, Jagat Guru (Jack Hebner), the reform-minded temple president, said: "I can't bring myself to believe, though some do, that Bryant's death would be ordered. 

"I feel his assassins are fringe members who took it upon themselves to do it. But whatever the truth is we do not want it to be hidden," Jagat Guru said.  Krishna followers interested in reform have grown steadily to about half of the leadership ranks, most of them longtime followers initiated by the sect’s founder, Jagat Guru said. 

"There is no room and no tolerance of riffraff in the garb of a preacher who is interested in simply taking church money for liquor, drugs, women, or whatever else he might enjoy," he said. 

Murky Authority 

The society has an international Governing Body Commission, but William Ogle, a Knoxville, Tenn., lawyer, who acts as its general counsel, conceded in an interview that the administrative authority of the commission in relation to the gurus is still murky. "It is no secret we are going through a serious developmental state in the aftermath of the founder's departure," Ogle said. 

On July 11, the commission's executive committee announced that it had started its own investigation into Bryant’s death. "We want to find out if anyone in our group was involved and if so, to what extent. We would take disciplinary action irrespective of what position the person held in the society," said Michael Grant, public affairs director for the Los Angeles temple, who said he spoke on behalf of the executive committee. 

When Ogle served as commission chairman in 1985, he directed a special committee to look into Bryant's allegations. 

The committee concluded that it was an "injudicious mistake" for New Vrindaban to initiate Bryant's wife as a devotee of the guru without his knowledge. (Bryant said he was in India on a business trip at the time.) At the same time, the committee noted that Bryant's "unsubstantiated allegations" against the West Virginia guru were "blasphemous" to the highest degree. 

Disagreements Not Allowed

One longtime Krishna follower, who said he had been "roughed up" by disciples because of his open disagreements with the new gurus, said serious criticism of the leadership is interpreted by loyal followers as "blasphemy against their spiritual master, [meaning] you can take action against [the offenders]."

Yet another dissident in California agreed: "No one is supposed to question these guys. You worship them as perfect or you are in trouble." 

With the matter of authority in the movement still unresolved, the number of gurus has grown from about 20 last year to nearly three dozen. 

"There has been a lot of negotiation and infighting in the society recently, but I think the political situation can be rectified," said Nalini Kanta. (Tom Hopke), a Los Angeles devotee. He said he is the Peace and Freedom Party candidate for Congress in the 23rd District this year and an astrologer for the Krishna movement. 

"I've been vocally opposed [to abuses], but I'm not fearful for my own life," Nalini Kanta said, indicating that he is not at all as "vociferous, so radical," as Bryant was. 

Dictatorial Rule

He said a big group of one-time disciples of the founder "think [the movement] is run in a very authoritarian way and that it should be done in a more cooperative way. I am against the philosophy that one particular guru should have dictatorial rule in his area. Prabhupada could do that because of his purity."

Former Berkeley temple official Paramahansa Swami said the root of the dispute is really spiritual authority. The reform influence at Berkeley and the conservative ideology at New Vrindaban "are exactly at the opposite ends of the spiritual movement," Nalini Kanta said. 

"In the last three years in that temple, 10 different people have 10 different philosophies," said Paramahansa, who maintained that the unquestioned authority of a spiritually qualified master is necessary to avoid religious "anarchy."  By John Dart The Los Angeles Times April 21, 1986 Copyright Los Angeles Times Reprinted by Permission

October

Krishna Urged to Settle Conflict (p. 4) A U.S. district court judge in San Francisco has urged Berkeley Hare Krishna members to reach an out-of-court settlement in their suit accusing West Virginia members of trying to take over the Berkeley Temple. The leader of the West Virginia group and the ousted head of the Berkeley group are also alleged in the suit to have raided $1 million in assets of two California Krishna groups. A trial is set for September of next year. The West Virginia group is being investigated by a federal grand jury in connection with the murder of an ex-member. From the Los Angeles Times August 9, 1986

 Krishnas Protest Soviets (p. 14)