UNITED STATES
New Humanist
by Mary Garden Jul 04, 05
A recent court case in the United States has found Hare Krishnas guilty of child abuse on a massive scale. Mary Garden uncovers the story of a hidden scandal
I remember dancing along with the Hare Krishnas on the streets of Auckland in 1973. The most visible of the religious groups that mushroomed during the 1960s and 70s, they were known for their chanting, shaved heads and saffron robes. For me they were the ultimate rebellion, the finger up at authority and the ‘establishment’. I was a new devotee of Eastern mysticism (yes I was lost, naïve and idealistic) and even though I did not join that particular group, I could well have done. They seemed a bit extreme but I regarded myself as not quite ready for the austere, ‘pure’ lifestyle that the Hare Krishnas demanded.
How ironic, then, that of all the religious sects spawned from the counterculture movement, the Hare Krishnas (also called International Society for Krishna Consciousness — ISKCON) ended up being one of the most authoritarian. It also ended up being one of the most abusive to the children in its care.
On 23 May 2005, the United States bankruptcy court approved a plan for ISKCON to pay $9.5 million in damages to former students who had suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse during the 1970s and 80s. Even though a majority of claimants had to vote for the plan in order for the court to accept it, there have been reports that many did so grudgingly, because they thought they would miss out otherwise. Regardless, a total of 550 plaintiffs will receive amounts ranging from $2,500 to $50,000 each (depending on the severity of the abuse) with disbursements beginning in September 2005 and the bulk of compensation to be paid by 2011.