Exposing The Hare Krishna Cult: Iskcon and its Fanaticism

I have always refrained from penning this article despite a persistent urge. A question from a friend some days back made me rethink my decision.

The question she asked, in verbatim : 

' Why some are saying that Iskcon devotees are very rude and fanatics ?? I'm not like that, isn't it ?? Clarify please '

Foremostly, what do I love about Iskcon? This includes the eminent standard of deity worship they hold and their dharma towards Bhakti-yoga. I love their gośālā-s. The way they spread the Lord's name with saṃkīrtanam is phenomenal. I would never deny the fact that a great spiritual wave which engulfs the planet has a huge contribution from Iskcon.

Image: Pic I captured during a Ratha-Yātra in Penang.

I have even made a video on the meaning and commentary on the  Kali-Santaraṇa Upaniṣat of the Yajur Veda which reveals the 'hare kṛṣṇa' mantra, as shown below : 

Nevertheless, Iskconites in large really do get on my nerves when it gets personal and I guess that's a mutual emotion everyone who labels Iskcon as a fanatical organisation share.

Image: My opinion is mutual to myriads of Hindus in Malaysia

Iskconites and their taunts 

Experience speaks. I have to quote incidents in order to justify my views. So here goes the list. Though these experiences are personal, they still come in agreeable terms with what a lot of other Hindus go through in this country.

(1) Looking down on those from a different sampradaya / belief

This was around 2017. I was in my 2nd year of medicine when of my seniors invited me to a kīrtan in a house of an Iskconite. I enjoyed the kirtan and ārati but things turned ugly after that.

A lecturer ( not my department ) who was also there, told me to remove my rudrākṣa mālā to have it replaced with Tulasi when we sat down for Japa. I have not known of any vaiṣṇavite text which tallies with his command. In fact, the texts glorify rudrākṣa as a potent bead.

Picture below is taken from a website ( sivapurana.blogspot.com ). This is a sharing of someone who has experienced a similar cult harassment.

The lecturer's feat did not end there. As we partook prasāda after the prayers, he approached me and spoke on his apparent experience of 'realising the true path' - the typical tale of them worshiping 'false deities' until arriving at Kṛṣṇa to have their standards heightened to a degree superior to mere mortals.

He went on to insult the deities I worship. In a grotesque attempt convince me, he claimed to have studied the entire spectrum of Hindu scriptures for years to realise this truth - which he is now mercifully sharing with me in hope that I come to light.

It was simply a sugar-coated version of ' worship the ONLY ONE or rot in hell, imbecile '. It felt so abrahamic to a point I anticipated a rice-bag to be offered soon enough.

What truly pissed me at that point in time was that this lad had led the recitation of nṛsiḿha-kavacaḿ earlier with corrupted pronunciations and is now proudly talking about his scriptural venture. How did he venture so much into scriptures without knowing samskṛta? Actually, what he meant by 'going through the scriptures' was reading a handful biased Iskcon authored - English Translated books on selected Paurāṇic scriptures. Even the Bhagavad Gīta they read is the Iskcon version.



(2) Modifying Sanskrit Terms To Support Their Opinions

Iskconites love using the term 'demigod' which does not tally with the Vedic vocab. The term devata does not mean 'demigod'. Demigod comes from Greek Mythology. But this is how scriptures are modified in Iskcon to favour viṣṇu-tattva. 

भगवान् ( bhagavān ) is translated to 'supreme personality of Godhead' to give an impression that it is only applicable to Kṛṣṇa, when it is clearly not.

देवता ( devata ) is translated to demigod.

Bhagavān is actually a term used for One who has Bhaga. Bhaga constitutes 6 guṇa-s: aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśaśaś śriyaha । jnāna vairāgya yoścaiva ṣaṇṇam bhaga itīraṇa

This is the definition as per Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47

This is also why you don't find any other sampradāya equating the term bhagavān to a fancy 'supreme personality of Godhead'.

Devata means - the One who ''shines''.The root sound is 'div' which means 'to shine. It simply means a 'divine state'. How is demigod a translation to 'devata'?s  Devata simply means deity. Even if you want to translate 'devata' as demigod, this label is then very applicable to lord Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa who are also referred to as 'devata-s' in scriptures.

In fact, the term bhagavān is widely used across our culture to denote enlightened masters, deities and saints. That means, the fancy term ' supreme personality of Godhead' is verily applicable to many other deities as well.

Bhagavati Stotra:

जय भगवति देवि नमो वरदे जय पापविनाशिनि बहुफलदे ।

jaya bhagavati devi namo varade jaya pāpavināśini bahuphalade ।

The same Veda Vyasa who authored Śrīmad Bhāgavatam also authored the Bhagavati Stotra which refers to Devi as "Bhagavati" ( feminine term of bhagavan')

Iskonites contradicting themselves

The above verse from Gīta Māhātmya is commonly used by Iskconite-s for obvious reasons.

Funny enough, this verse quotes Devaki Putra ( Lord Kṛṣṇa ) as a deva ( eko devaḥ). Iskonites can call Lord Śiva and Gaṇapati 'demigods' because according to them, deva = demigod.

Then why is Kṛṣna not called a demigod as per this verse?

As you can see, they cunningly manipulate scriptures and use fancy English terms to suit their philosophy.



Nothing wrong with following what your guru has chosen to enlighten you with. But don't go around shoving your ideology into people from other paths and lineages. That's when you get labeled.

And you cannot avoid them stressing non-Viṣṇu-tattva deities as 'demigods'. For example, they can never say Śiva or Gauri. They gotta use 'demigod Śiva'. They cannot live without a hierarchy where they place Gods they have never experienced in an order - highest to lowest.

Image: Bagaimana acuan begitulah kuihnya...

Malaysian Iskconites use disgusting jargons among themselves. Non-devotees are referred to as karmi-s ( sinners). They are also fond of terming other deities as dummy gods ( demigod ridiculed as dummy god ).

Image: This is how they treat my friend who had once dedicated her entire life for ISKCON. Karmi is a term equivalent to sinner / infidel used to denote non-iskconites

It's like they get high by insulting deities they dislike. It is as though they earn merits for every insult so they have enough points to get an express train to Goloka.

Pic: Iskconites and their ego. You fellas edit shit into these pictures and expect tolerance?

The problem is these closed minded people understand Vedic terms in a biased English translation which fuels nothing but fanaticism. This fanaticism assumes a crude form when they believe themselves to be scripturally enlightened enough to dictate.

Try replacing every ' supreme personality of godhead' in their books with simply 'bhagavan' and every 'demigod' into 'devata' and you will see how different the very books appear.



Rudra is referred to as Bhagavān in the Yajur Veda. Agni is halted supreme in the ṛg Veda. But you don't see Vaidika-s going around calling Rudra as the 'supreme personality of Godhead' and demeaning Viṣṇu-tattva deities as demigods like there's no tomorrow. They could if they wanted. The same applies to every path.

Nothing wrong with worshiping the deity you perceive as supreme without having to condemn other deities desperately.

Other sampradaya-s have this bias too. But you don't see people getting pissed with them as much as they do with Iskconites simply because Iskconites are overdoing it with sheer ego - the delusion that only they KNOW it and those who do not submit to their philosophy are worthy of harassment.

(3) Refusal to Quote Vedas as Source of Reference

Though Iskconites claim to represent the Vedic tradition, they never take reference or quote verses from the Vedas which stand as the highest authority of Hinduism. This is because no part of the Vedas proclaim Lord Kṛṣṇa as the only true God. The Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣat proclaims Kṛṣṇa as an incarnation of the absolute, in the same manner in which the Gaṇapati Upaniṣat  extols Gaṇapati as the absolute or the Rudra praśna which declares Rudra as the all-pervading absolute reality. 

We are not following an Abrahamic religion. If you follow the Hindu scriptures, you cannot submit to a philosophy of worshiping the only one true god. 

Iskconites cunningly claim to quote the Vedas but whatever they say comes from buffeted Vaishnavite Puranic scriptures ( typically Śrīmad bhāgavatam ).

(3) Forcing Others to Leave their Sadhana and stick to the 'maha-mantra'

You will find Iskconites giving you free initiations into their version of the best 'mantra-sādhana'. I was told by many Iskconite-s to stop reciting the Vedas or to teach them. Yes, you heard me right. I was told to instead resort to their 'Hare Kṛṣṇa' mantra and nothing else. The reasoning they have is that the only worthy mantra is what they preach and that is the only key towards enlightenment. PFFFTTT !

I have had many contacts from Iskcon in the past ( surprisingly all of them have left the cult today...) and it is common to see them ridicule people who have meditation, yoga or any non-bhakti oriented sadhana as their focus. To them, anything other than the 'Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra' and their form of 'bhakti-sādhana' is filth.

Grab the Mahābhārata and look at the anuśāsana parva- where Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself declares that His daily sadhana was to worship Lord Śiva with the recitation of Rudra praśna. This occurs in a conversion between Lord Kṛṣṇa and King Yudhiṣṭhira.

But Iskconites will never speak about this. To them, Vedic scriptures are like buffet - you pick what you like and suits your ideology and pretend like everything else is non-existent.

It's like they need this daily dosage of roasting other sects to convince them they are on the best path. This actually heavily resembles insecurity. So insecure about your belief that you gotta constantly put other deities and lineages down.

(4)  Hypocrisy and Pseudo-humility

See, Iskconites know that they have a bad reputation among the Hindus in Malaysia because of their uncouth and pesty behaviour in the name of merciful preaching. So they adopt silly methods in an attempt to debunk the fanatical label.

You will them having typical quotes to approve their apparent 'respect' the deities they called 'demigods' - to demonstrate that they are not fanatical but merely quoting the scriptures. 

For instance, you can hear them revering Śiva as the greatest Vaiṣṇavite as their texts say so.

वैष्णवानां यथा शम्भु: 
vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ

( Among the vaiṣṇavites it is śambuḥ  )

Next, you have the typical milk to yogurt analogy where they give an impression of their reverence towards Śiva ( Milk can become yogurt but yogurt can never become milk - Kṛṣṇa can become Śiva but Śiva can never become Kṛṣṇa )

These are the typical pickup lines they mug and parrot in public to mask their fanaticism.

Again, a screenshot from ' sivapurana.blogspot.com ' 

Firstly, these texts ( used by Iskconites as reference ) are Purānoktam and not from the Vedas.

Purāṇa-s are always biased to a particular principle. Take Liṅga purāṇa and you will find Śiva being glorified as Supreme. Take the Brahmāṇḍa purāṇa and you will find Devi being glorified as Supreme.

So simply picking up a verse from your desired text and claiming it to be the only right truth is never applicable to our culture - which is overly rich with literature and scriptures.

Iskconites have awareness on this and they make huge attempts to prevent Hindus from venturing into any scripture which doesn't suit their ideology.

Image: Hypocrisy - they will call themselves the servant of servants but will boss you on what you should read.

If you want to talk about scriptures - talk about all of them, not pick what you like. This ain't a buffet.

Many paths exist to accommodate people from different backgrounds who have an affinity toward a particular sadhana that leads to their enlightenment. So stick to yours and stop poking your nose into the sampradaya of others.

Any śaivite, saura or śākta can do the same by picking a verse that glorifies His or Her preferred deity as supreme. But you don't find that often.

Iskconites do it like drinking water - and that's why the label.

(5) Demonising Bhasma - The Sacred Ash of Hindu Tradition

Once, an acquaintance from Iskcon pled me ( like literally begged me ) to refrain from using bhasma ( holy ash ) as the Agni purāṇa apparently classifies bhasma ( ash ) as dirt. Apparently he was taught in Iskcon that bhasma is filth.

( No worries, in this context the Agni purāṇa is perfectly authentic, non-tamasic for Iskconites. It only becomes inauthentic when one quotes a verse which glorifies deities other than Viṣṇu )

I showed Him another reference from Śiva purāṇa which glorifies the same vibhūti. But again, they have a typical answer to that. Any scripture which does not agree to their belief is termed 'tāmasic' - hence inauthentic. Any philosophy that does not tally with their belief system is classified as 'māyāvadi philosophy'.

Firstly, these nutcases need to realise that vibhūti or bhasma is not about just smearing random street dust on your body. The Kāmika āgama gives a very detailed instruction on bhasma preparation. It which involves usage of ash from the remains of a Śiva agni. So the ash described in Agni purāna is not in reference to the sacred bhasma Śaivites use. Śaivites use consecrated bhasma, just like how Iskconites worship consecrated deities and not stones.

(6) Iskconites who Traumatise temple visitors

This always happens when I visit the Śri Rādha Kṛṣṇa Kaṇṇaiyā Temple of Penang.

Iskconites never fail to disrupt my inner peace in that awesome temple. I can barely appreciate the beauty of the deity alaṃkāra before getting ambushed by a hardcore preacher.

It is fine to share what your sampradāya has to say - but do it in a socially acceptable way. You should especially have some courtesy when I have my own guru and path.

This is how they ambush visitors verbally:

'' So, when are you gonna get the Tulasi mālā around your neck ? ''

'' Do you know Hinduism? You should start reading our books. I was also worshiping demigods like Śiva and Kāli before learning Hinduism. Finally, truth dawned by the grace of Kṛṣṇa and I am here''

'' Even the Bāla Muruga who resides beside this temple is a servant of Kṛṣṇa. He is a Vaiṣṇava, a demigod. Yet, people do not visit our temple and they pray to the servant of Kṛṣṇa''

Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself quotes His state of Oneness with Skanda by proclaiming Himself to be 'Skanda among the Lord of Wars' in the Bhagavad Gīta. And here we have a joker who insults Muruga, the deity who is a breath to  Tamiḻs.

They do this shit and expect the public to love them? Dude, you are insulting a deity who is celebrated by millions of Hindus here. Stop being a nitwit!

They should really consider stand-up comedy. They can put the clowns of the London Royal Circus to shame.

Kṛṣṇa Kaṇṇaiyā  temple, Penang: I captured their image as they captured my heart

However, what I witnessed during one of my visits disturbed me deeply. It was a Saturday morning in 2017 and I saw a simple nuclear Indian family - Father, mother and a kid visit the temple. It was their first time there and they wanted to experience a temple that appeared a little different from the norm of Śaiva āgama based temples in Malaysia

They could barely pray as they wanted before getting ambushed. A preacher traumatised them by throwing insults. And mind you, these were very simple people who worshiped all deities with a pure heart. They clearly did not like arguing over scriptures and supremacy.

This went on for an hour. The preacher was giving a verbal diarrhea out of his sheer ego. He even resorted to telling them that they were wasting their liveswithout  worshiping the 'only true one'. He then went on to promote some Iskcon-translated scriptures to them.

Image: Iskcon has destroyed many families by robbing off their ancestral values.

With a huge dosage of verbal abuse, the wearied family left with the totally unasked lecture and I took the chance to have a word with them. They actually practice a form of meditation where they contemplate upon God as jyoti ( light ). In addition, they visit all temples without any bias for a particular form.

They looked pretty hurt and expressed their horrid experience. I tried my best to convince them not to hate Vaiṣṇavism because of these jokers. It didn't seem to work and they left with an oath to never foot into the temple again. I will never forget the tears in their eyes when they left the temple.

And you can ask the world as to why Iskcon is getting labeled as a fanatic association?

I was actually instructed not to 'waste' time in the  Bāla Subrahmaṇya temple adjacent to Kaṇṇaiyā  and if this is not fanaticism, I do not know what else defines it.

Images: The Bāla Subrahmaṇya temple adjacent to the ISKCON Kaṇṇaiyā temple

For now, I have a new method to get rid of such pests - just ask them to recite the śloka of reference they use to validate their philosophy. If they fail to recite it with perfect pronunciations or at least give the individual meanings for each word without parroting the presented English translation, they are in no authority to dictate. 

The last debate I recall is having a heated argument with a staff who used to work in Bangsar Rāmaliṅgeśvara temple. He was not happy with me teaching Rudram in the temple and tried to convince me to teach the Bhagavad Gīta instead. He forced me into a debate to convince that I should worship His lord instead of Rudra ( but it is perfectly okay for him to find his rice bowl from the revenue they give in a Śiva temple ). The fun ended when this chap started to run away from me while shouting ' māyāvadi.. māyāvadi...' around the perimeter of the temple.

If you have experienced similar trauma, warn any preacher who starts harassing you. Remember- no one has the right to dictate over which Guru, lineage and deity you should adhere to.

Prabhupada: Women enjoy rape! It is after-all an itching sensation

Watch the video above in Youtube. You can listen the the actual recording of the old man's discourses. He claims that women have an itching sensation and enjoy rape. He also says that blacks should be made slaves.

And you think he is enlightened to decipher and give commentaries on what an avatar spoke?

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(1) Supreme God as Per Vedas