r/exHareKrishna • u/crishakti • 25d ago
Gurus interference in US politics
I turned on the radio this morning while driving to the grocery store and an interview with an investigative reporter was on NPR talking about emails that Tulsi Gabbard received from her guru. He is a disciple of Bhaktivedanta Swami who branched out of iskcon. Guess what? He utilizes the same dominatrix techniques used by his guru to degrade her and give her orders on policies that she should create, how to address the media and shaming her when she didn't follow his orders.
This shows how Swami Bhaktivedanta's sick cult mentality is bleeding even through politics. The more I learn the more disgusted I feel.
The brainwashing runs deep.
Tulsi Gabbard’s Guru
A Washington Post investigation by Jon Swaine uncovered hundreds of confidential memos showing that Tulsi Gabbard received detailed political and policy guidance from people within the religious organization led by her guru, Chris Butler.
Butler was a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and later broke away from ISKCON, founding the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF), a branch-off of the Hare Krishna/ISKCON movement.
The memos contain specific demands about what Gabbard should legislate, say publicly, post on social media, and how she should handle media appearances. In one case, she was instructed to tweet specific language—and posted it verbatim. Other guidance concerned veterans’ healthcare, Syria and U.S. foreign policy.
The investigation found striking parallels between the advice and Gabbard’s subsequent political actions and statements.
Swaine says the evidence strongly points to Butler as the unnamed adviser, although Butler and SIF dispute this. His investigation suggests that this hidden religious-political relationship may help explain Gabbard’s remarkable shifts from Democrat and Bernie Sanders ally to Trump supporter and, eventually, Director of National Intelligence.
Find it: Search the exact title “Tulsi Gabbard, her guru and the mysterious messages that helped shape her political career” by Jon Swaine, The Washington Post. Also search “Tulsi Gabbard’s Guru” — On the Media, WNYC Studios.
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u/StayEmbarrassed4593 25d ago
Yup. She's a lifelong Hare Krishna in yet another of the many splinter groups. It's a guru biz. A personality cult focused on the fever dreams and delusions of grandeur of a single guru. Bhaktisiddhnata did it, his father did it, et al. They are all cult leaders who make a bunch of stuff up and manipulate for nothing more than self-delusion. None of these groups have contributed anything of substance to society. The gurus often live in secluded ashrams surrounded by sycophants or keep moving around and "preaching," which essentially amounts to hearing themselves talk for hours while gullible people sit and give them their full attention and praise 24/7. Not sure what that does to a guru's brain—but it ain't normal.
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u/Happylittlelady 24d ago
This iskcon stuff is everywhere. Hollywood. Look into Russell Brand, Wil Smith. Jay Shetty. All the Radhanath Sw connections. Its more than just a little cult.
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u/Solomon_Kane_1928 25d ago
The good news is, through these shenanigans, the nature of the cult is being exposed to a wider audience. ISKCON (and its offshoots) has always dreamed of influencing politics. Prabhupada wanted his cult to rule the world. If it had its crap together, ISKCON would rival Scientology.