Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness and the Hare Krishnas

Was part of this CULT between 1970 and 1972. Jonn Lennen and George were loosely followers. George more so he donated 19,000 dollars for the publication of a book titled Krishna! They represent the Hinduism the same as the Moonies represent Christianity. Brain washing tactics are the same whatever they are done in the name of government or religion.

I actually read this book when it first came out in 1988. I had been a Krishna devotee in Chicago during the early 80s and someone turned me on to this book. I was quite shocked and enthralled at the same time. Although there had always been talk that Kirtanananda was kind of doing his own thing and the Wheeling temple was more fanatic than others. My experience in Chicago was pretty good. I stayed there about 4 years and saw a fair amount of authoritarianism from the governing guru and temple president. I became one of the head cooks and learned an incredible amount about Indian cooking. I also did carpentry work, cleaning, and other tasks around the temple. I felt like a very valuable part of the ashram, but the devotees that went out every day to collect money, either from book sales at the airport or soliciting at concerts and malls, were given the highest importance. Of course you need money to run any organization, but I was actually told on several occasions that I was not as important as those that brought in the money. I was quite independently minded so I tended to question whatever I was told rather than blindly obey stupid orders so after a few years started to become alittle disenchanted but I will say there are more good devotees than bad ones and there are alot of positive aspects to that way of life although I no longer practice it. The music, the food, the philosophical teachings are all quite uplifting. But it is hard for alot of people to give up their desires for power and they become corrupt. This is a pervasive human flaw just like list and greed. But even amongst the various scandles that have surfaced about the Hare Krishna movement, one should not write them all off. There are many decent members world wide.

A college buddy of mine demanded that I read this book because, as he said, "I rode in the pick-up truck they used to kill the dude in the book!" He was a stoner first and an aging hippie second, and he lived on and off in Athens, Ohio, a college town in the foothills of the Appalachians (and an incredible party town too). He used to bum rides from the Hare Krishnas and somehow found out that the pick-up truck sent from West Virginia to the Krishna house in Athens was the one mentioned in the first chapter of MONKEY ON A STICK. I picked up the book, saying I'd read but not really jumping into it. A couple years later, during a serious bout of insomnia, I pulled it off the shelf...and then could not put it down. Absolutely fascinating. It begins with the prolonged murder of a guy the Krishnas wanted dead, then the book takes the reader on the bad, crazy trip of how the Hare Krishna movement started--at first as a magical, mystery tour by American hippies in the Far East before turning into a drug-fueled nightmare of cult control and sex abuse. Like the former Krishna said in his review: "You can't put it down."

I was involved with the Hare Krishna movement from 1973 to 1977, after which I broke off all contact with them. Not because I was abused or whatever, just because I could not handle the austerity. I was never abused, I never witnessed anyone else being abused, nor did I ever hear of anyone being abused. And I wasn't at the bottom rung; I was a temple treasurer for a couple of years, then became a "pujari", or altar priest, for the remainder of my time there. Anyway, it is also worth mentioning that most of the events in the book happened after I left, when the founder of the movement died. I found this book in the library, and actually read the entire book in one sitting. I was mesmerized, because I knew many of the people in the book. It is like a "whatever happend to..." type of thing. I was also a little self-satisfied, since many of the jerks I knew got their just desserts. Yes, I knew some jerks: people who got caught up in a "power trip", and made life miserable (but still not abusive) for the rest of us. Every organization has jerks. I was also shocked of learning of goings-on "behind the scenes". I have to admit I never saw any illegal things going on... but I did occasionally hear rumors. And reading this book helped all the jigsaw puzzles fall into place. Having spent several years in ISKCON (the Hare Krishna's organization), I can always tell when I read something that shows that the authors did not do their homework, which puts their credibility in question. It is not the case in this book. I found only one minor error (where they state that the devotees use the word "Krsna" instead of "Krishna" out of respect. That is not the reason; it has to do with the Roman transliteration of Sanskrit). The bottom line is, I felt this book to be credible, factual and authentic. And incredibly entertaining. Although the Gaudiya-Vaishnava religion (represented in part by the Hare Krishnas) is wonderfully rich in philosophical and theological content, this book shows what can happen when greed gets in the way.

As a young child growing up in the Ashram in New Vrindaban,West Virginia I can verify that the accounts describe in this book aretrue. I know a large amount of people in the book including the the family of Chuck St. Dennis and the son of Bryant. This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys realistic horror, murder, and deceit. Unfortunetly this book does not tell of the aftermath of "The Swami's" reign and the devistation it left so many families in. So many families have to start form scratch,penniless, picking up the loose ends and finding their way back into society after being remove from reality for ten or twenty years. John Hubner should write a sequel containing the stories of the children in the Hare Krsna movement and the abuse (physical, mental, and sexual) and the neglect they endured due to "The Swami's" direct orders. I believe that a sequel would become a best seller. Anyone interested in cults and the chaos they bring to the unsupecting person should read this book because Monkey on a Stick will outrage you as well as keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to know more of what went on.

About 1981, I stumbled onto to grounds of the emerging palace the Krishnas were building in the West Virginia hills to honor Swami Prahupada. The Swami developed his following while living on 2nd Avenue in New York. Monkey on a Stick tells the utterly fascinating story of the Swami and his followers and how, after his death, the devotees built the grandiose and goldleafed palace that grew above the tree tops east of Moundsville, WV. Hubner and Gruson capture the power trips and plays that becomes a first rate murder mystery. My guess is that the book's grotesque title may have cost it some readers. Too bad. Highly recommended.

I am surprised just how rare this material is! Book describes a lot of the evil things that happend to ISKCON after the death of Prabhupada. Men raised to the rank of gods, while still seeking the pleasures of this world. Seems to be very carefully researched, but rarely reviewed.