When asked about the Hare Krishnas, most people will conjure images of dancing, chanting people with colourful robes and joyful dispositions. Members of the general public, whom Hare Krishnas refer to as 'karmis', may have encountered devotees through their vegetarian food offerings at music festivals or city restaurants. Their anti-LGBTQI+ and patriarchal beliefs, as well as the darker aspects of their history – including horrifying stories of abuse, and even murders – come as a surprise to many.

Full research sources listed here. You can support us on Patreon. Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now.

Links:

• Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the USA — by Ramai Swami, 27 September 2021
• Authoritarian Culture and Child Abuse in ISKCON — by Nori J. Muster, Cultic Studies Review, 3(1), 2004
• Children of ISKCON vs. ISKCON complaint — Plaintiffs’ original petition in the Dallas lawsuit, Surrealist.org, filed 25 October 2001
• How I Once Was a Hare Krishna… — by Christopher Fici, Medium, 7 January 2023
• Holy Cow, Swami — documentary by Jacob Young, 1996
• History — ISKCON Child Protection Office, accessed January 2025
• Child Abuse in the Hare Krishna Movement: 1971-1986 — by E. Burke Rochford, Jr. with Jennifer Heinlein, ISKCON Communications Journal, Vol. 6, #1, June 1998
• Children of ISKCON vs. ISKCON Timeline — Surrealist.org (Nori Muster’s website), accessed January 2025
• Tortured Souls — by Mark Donald, Dallas Observer, 6 December 2001
• Dial Om for Murder — by John Hubner & Lindsey Gruson, Rolling Stone, Issue 497, 1987
• Religion: Control Stressed at Krishna Children’s School — by Eleanor Blau, The New York Times, 25 November 1973
• Why ISKCON Needs to be on Guard Against “Cultic Behavior” — by Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON News, 26 July 2024
• The Krishna Cult — by Paul Ford, Mad After Krishna, 1994

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