Gurukula Reunion, Culver City, California, 1997.
The Children of ISKCON: Who Are They?
The history, the lawsuit and the mythology
by Nori J. Muster
This website traces the history of child abuse in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement. Gurukula, Sanskrit for the "school of the guru," is the area within ISKCON where most of the child abuse took place. The schools were extremely abusive on all levels: emotional, physical and sexual, and the children's basic needs were severely neglected.
I am an exmember of ISKCON and author of the book, Betrayal of the Spirit (University of Illinois Press, 1997). After my book came out I spent four years researching the history of child abuse in ISKCON. I am currently writing a book about child abuse in coercive organizations. - updated 20 Feb. 2006
Child Abuse History in a Timeline
The Gurukula Timeline offers significant dates in ISKCON history, including the opening and closing dates of schools. The timeline begins in 1965, when Srila Prabahupada came to America, and ends in 1999. In 2000, plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, Children of ISKCON vs. ISKCON. Therefore, the years 2000 on are covered in the Lawsuit Timeline.
Timeline 1965 - 1999
Lawsuit Timeline 2000 - present
Media Coverage
The largest area of this site is the collection of mainstream media articles on the subject of child abuse in the ISKCON Gurukula. Click here for a list of articles. Many of the articles are linked or posted.
Scriptural Stories as Gurukula Mythology
Learn about stories from the Vedic scriptures used in ISKCON that contain lessons for all abuse victims: click here.
En Espanol
Timeline in Spanish 1965 - 1999
In Memorial: Ananda McClure
Information on Dhanurdara
On Leaving ISKCON by Steven Gelberg (Subhananda)
A statement about Tamohara
Editor's Note: Apologies for taking out many of the diacritics. The software does not support special characters.
Other Information
Second generation - there is a new study by Janja Lalich. She needs to interview people born or raised in cults. Click here to learn more about it.
Sanjaya Malakar of American Idol a Child of ISKCON, article, April 2007
In Memorial: Ananda McClure, May 2006
Click here for an explanation of child abuse symptoms
Click here for an index of all child abuse information available through this site.
Click here for information about the Hare Krishna Movement and similar groups.
Sureralist Archives Pages that were removed from Surrealist.org in 2005, reinstated.
Click here for Surrealist.org home page.
