Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Gold, Guns and God: Swami Bhaktipada and the West Virginia Hare Krishnas - Henry Doktorski
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Disclaimer: This session was delivered for the 2023 ICSA Conference. The speaker of this session does not speak on behalf of ICSA as an organization.
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Abstract: This presentation will describe the history of the West Virginia ISKCON center, New Vrindaban, with a special focus on the charismatic leader of the commune for 26 years: Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada (1937-2011).
Bhaktipada was a controversial figure. He was one of the first disciples of the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness: His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977). He was Prabhupada’s first sannyasi (the highest order in the Gaudiya-Vaishnava religion), as well as the person who established the New Vrindaban Community in 1968. Over time, he became an extremely charismatic individual, and his followers and disciples regarded him as a "pure devotee," a self-realized soul.
After Prabhupada’s passing in 1977, he began initiating his own disciples. By 1986, he had initiated at least 1,000 disciples. Under his leadership, New Vrindaban expanded to 2,000 acres and had close to 600 residents (including children). However, in 1987, he was expelled from ISKCON and suffered from legal troubles. He was convicted of racketeering in a March 1991 trial and spent two years under house arrest until he was vindicated on appeal in 1993. However, many of his followers turned against him, and in 1994, they eventually removed him as the leader of New Vrindaban. He went to trial again in 1996 and pleaded guilty. He served eight years in federal penitentiaries until he was released in 2004. He retired to India in 2008 and passed away three years later.
Doktorski will also offer commentary on what he calls "deranged devotion": the emotional mindset of those who were influenced by "The Cult of Kirtanananda".
Gold, Guns and God: Swami Bhaktipada and the West Virginia Hare Krishnas - Henry Doktorski
-
Disclaimer: This session was delivered for the 2023 ICSA Conference. The speaker of this session does not speak on behalf of ICSA as an organization.
-
Abstract: This presentation will describe the history of the West Virginia ISKCON center, New Vrindaban, with a special focus on the charismatic leader of the commune for 26 years: Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada (1937-2011).
Bhaktipada was a controversial figure. He was one of the first disciples of the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness: His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977). He was Prabhupada’s first sannyasi (the highest order in the Gaudiya-Vaishnava religion), as well as the person who established the New Vrindaban Community in 1968. Over time, he became an extremely charismatic individual, and his followers and disciples regarded him as a "pure devotee," a self-realized soul.
After Prabhupada’s passing in 1977, he began initiating his own disciples. By 1986, he had initiated at least 1,000 disciples. Under his leadership, New Vrindaban expanded to 2,000 acres and had close to 600 residents (including children). However, in 1987, he was expelled from ISKCON and suffered from legal troubles. He was convicted of racketeering in a March 1991 trial and spent two years under house arrest until he was vindicated on appeal in 1993. However, many of his followers turned against him, and in 1994, they eventually removed him as the leader of New Vrindaban. He went to trial again in 1996 and pleaded guilty. He served eight years in federal penitentiaries until he was released in 2004. He retired to India in 2008 and passed away three years later.
Doktorski will also offer commentary on what he calls "deranged devotion": the emotional mindset of those who were influenced by "The Cult of Kirtanananda".
