Review of Recent Annutama PR Action December 30, 2024, ISKCON Communications released their movie review of Monkey on a Stick. Read the review. Rebuttal to ISKCON's Official Statement Nori Muster, Editor I worked all through 2024 on this film so I must address ISKCON Communication's misunderstandings. ISKCON Communications said: The book and film are part of the "true crime" genre, meaning the film does not attempt to be completely factual nor balanced. My reply: That's not what true crime means. Here's a more accurate description: As the Historical Advisor for the movie, one of my responsibilities was to help get every detail accurate to history. However, we had a couple flaws. The worst inaccuracies were in the the Laguna Beach drug smuggling segment. There were several mistakes, but the most glaring mistake was to say devotees dressed in Hindu robes and chanted on their beads as a disguise to get through customs. The truth is, the devotees wore business suits. Another thing we left ont, drug dealing was not limited to Laguna Beach. Many of the zonal gurus had drug smugglers who brought in money. The other flaw that stands out was to say the Matchless Gifts storefront was an abandoned building. That's not true. The storefront was empty because it was for rent. When Mukunda Goswami met Srila Prabhupada, he found that location and helped Srila Prabhupada get a lease for the storefront and an apartment inside the building. Calling the place "abandoned" is a flaw, but not a terribly consequential detail. It's true Ramesvara had expensive business suits and leather shoes on the left side of his closet and sanyassi clothes on the right side. I saw this myself when I used to help clean Ramesvara's quarters during the morning program. It was an ordinary closet, not a walk-in closet, as we stated in the move. Inaccurate but not consequential to the validity of the story. There were also a few instances where actors were dressed in saffron when it would have been more accurate if they were wearing white. But overall, wardrobe and make-up were accurate on the haircuts, Hindu clothes, and tilak. That's about it for flaws. And since there were only a few. Apart from the drug smuggling segment, I give the production an "A" for accuracy. ISKCON Communications said: But this film is not a documentary; it doesn't seek balance or accuracy. My reply: This is an accurate documentary. For balance we interviewed former ISKCON followers, second generation devotees, and others who had personal stories to tell about how ISKCON affected their lives. The documentary is balanced in favor of the thousands of people who had no political power in ISKCON. ISKCON Communications said: Here are some of the facts that were glossed over or ignored in the film: The former leaders featured in the film were expelled from ISKCON, and/or removed from all positions of power decades ago. My reply: If you watched the movie, you would remember how we profiled four zonal gurus and showed them sitting in front of a map of the world. We didn't gloss over or ignore ISKCON kicking them out. Each time ISKCON kicked one of them out, we went back to that slide and showed that guru's picture turn to a shadow. Plus, every time a guru is kicked out in the documentary, someone says so out loud, usually John Hubner. It was quite clear they were kicked out for their crimes. However, just because four gurus got themselves kicked out and we documented it, that doesn't mean all the dishonest people in the ISKCON hierarchy were caught and kicked out. We could have elaborated on the problems with ISKCON's current hierarchy, but we wanted to stick with the book, which only goes up to 1988. So that's my feedback. I'm glad ISKCON Communications issued this statement on New Year's Eve because I've heard from a lot of friends who spotted it. Here are a few replies people sent to me. Godsister: . . . what I see from their review is an opening for another movie, an updated version exposing current iskcon misleadership . . . those who already have some negative experience or opinion of iskcon will feel justification for their animosity. Friend: ISKCON's release overlooks the larger issue entirely - which is that the gurus who fell down were acting out ideas that had been seeded by Prabhupada's philosophy: that the ends justify the means, that women were inferior to men, and his grandiosity that they wanted for themselves. It's easier to criticize the film if you ignore the largest points it makes. Friend: At the risk of coming across as the annoying guy that says 'I told you so'. I thought that Anuttama really took advantage of the fact that the documentary did not mention any of the current problems. Ys Kesava Krsna Dasa: Here my unofficial response to ISKCON's official response to the Monkey on a Stick documentary! The official response complains about a lack of balance among other things. Is the official response and the system it represents balanced? I think it's for you to decide! Whereas Srila Prabhupada stresses unity in diversity as a balance, an official response claiming to represent the diverse views of "tens of millions of followers" worldwide presupposes unity without diversity. As the official mouthpiece for "tens of millions of followers," the official response is expected to be swallowed whole without question as the absolute final word. To me, that's imbalanced power abuse! Authoritarian regimes speak to the subjugated as one official voice without diversity! The official ISKCON response is an authoritarian statement with a spiritual flavour added! The official response explains how the four main power-abusive characters in the documentary were all expelled from ISKCON and that these events occurred decades ago. What the official response doesn't mention is that at this very minute, known abusers, power-abusers and admitted child-abusers are still in prominent positions as 'gurus,' TOVP leaders and the rest. The official response plays the victim of an unfair, imbalanced documentary to earn the sympathy of "tens of millions of followers' while ignoring the victims of abusers, power-abusers and admitted child-abusers held in high regard within ISKCON today. Does this sound balanced to you? The official response lists various steps taken to remedy power-abuse in ISKCON. Fair enough! It claims that ISKCON education serves to prevent members from being blind followers and to be independently thoughtful. With a single mouthpiece giving an absolute official response on all matters, diverse and independent thoughts don't fit in. All are expected to obey without question! We'd have to all be naïve and dumb to expect all the diverse "tens of millions of followers' to think exactly the same way as the official response. Many ISKCON members have yet to watch the documentary. Wouldn't a balanced official response allow them to make up their own minds after watching rather than making up their minds for them? And the official response is pleading for balance? The only official, final words are spoken by Lord Krishna and His acarya representatives. Claiming to be the official response on any matter indicates power. To use this power over sincere seekers who want genuine spirituality is abuse disguised as caring and loving authority. The naive and dumb fall for it. A lot more can be said about the official response. My unofficial response may or may not be agreed upon, but that's okay when diversity exists. To give an official response on behalf of millions is problematic. Are you happy to let your authorities decide your response to the documentary? Let me decide for myself! I sincerely hope ISKCON members decide for themselves in the true spirit of thinking independently. More comments at Krishna1008 Read more replies here: krishna1008 LOM: It's about time ISKCON followers stopped living in denial. Just because ISKCON Communications declares the movie inaccurate, doesn't make it inaccurate. Anuttama Dasa: Worried about Cultic Behavior? by Nori Muster Recently I read "Why ISKCON Needs to be on Guard Against 'Cultic Behavior,' " by Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON's Global Minister of Communications. (iskconnews.org July 26, 2024). His article minimizes what happened, making it sound like ISKCON's crimes were normal. Here are a few examples: He says, "I learned that ISKCON, like all human communities, is vulnerable to abuse of power and cultic behaviors." I agree all human communities are vulnerable to abuse of power and cultic behaviors, but with good leadership, these things can be addressed and stopped. As a result, not all religious groups murder people. And not all groups take cash from criminals. All families don't murder people or take drug money. ISKCON's rate of crime was as high as any notorious dangerous cult. Normalizing crime is not a convincing argument. Another poor argument is made based on a Srimad Bhagavatam (2.7.37) purport. Anuttama quotes the purport when he says Prabhupada teaches that "we are vulnerable to the flaws of personal and communal arrogance, which can breed abuse." Well, it's true we all have flaws and we may be vulnerable to acting out at times. But murdering people or raping children is more serious than just a flaw. At least twenty people from the 1980s remain in the hierarchy as GBC representatives, sankirtan leaders, and initiating gurus. Keeping dangerous people in command just because they have tenure weakens the structural integrity of ISKCON. Even if Anuttama says ISKCON has achieved the pure religion Srila Prabhupada envisioned, keeping unqualified people in the hierarchy leaves ISKCON in the dangerous cult column. To this day, ISKCON people who want to keep their jobs never speak openly about the crimes of the 1980s. If they did, it would be a buzz kill for them. I believe most ISKCON members can't bring themselves to see the truth. For one thing, ISKCON had a great PR office to blur all the information and make it go away. As an individual who lived through all the lies and crimes, and someone who participated in the cover-up, I must explain ISKCON's crimes are not normal for any religious organization. In the article, Anuttama describes ISKCON as a "worldwide organization that makes phenomenal, positive contributions to the world." He also dragged out the old trope that ISKCON is a victim of religious persecution. He reminds his readers ISKCON comes from an ancient tradition. But that doesn't make people persecute ISKCON. It was their crimes that bother people. One way ISKCON could rally support would be to expose and remove the criminals and criminal enablers. Setting a good example like that would, in itself, make a phenomenal, positive contribution to the world. Index