The Hare Krishna Grifter, Swami Bhaktipada, Dies at 74
OCTOBER 25, 2011 TAGS:
This has to be a legendary obituary lead. From Margalit Fox's obit for Swami Bhaktipada, a prominent American Hare Krishna leader, who died Monday.
Swami Bhaktipada, a former leader of the American Hare Krishna movement who built a sprawling golden paradise for his followers in the hills of Appalachia but who later pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges that included conspiracy to commit the murders-for-hire of two devotees, died on Monday in a hospital near Mumbai, India. He was 74.
Images of a placid, robed monk offering flowers and cooking vegetarian meals seem to clash against those of smoke-filled backrooms where criminal conspiracy often happens. But replace the cigar smoke with wafting incense and you get the picture of a shady organization operating under the guise of a spiritually enlightened paradise.
In 1968 after rising through the ranks of the nascent Hare Krishna movement in New York City, Bhaktipada, who was born Keith Gordon Ham in upstate New York, established a spiritual center in West Virginia called New Vrindivan. It was named after the mythic pastoral idyll where the young avatar Krishna mingled with his devotees. Despite the golden domed architecture and the sprawling mountainous grounds replete with a wandering elephant, New Vrindavan was no paradise.
He funded the purchase of the property through the sale of counterfeit stickers, which, according to the Times netted over $10 million. Former devotees accused Bhaktipada and others of encouraging sexual abuse of minors.
In 1991, Bhaktipada was convicted on six counts of mail fraud and three counts of racketeering. Although an appeals court ordered a new trial in 1993, Bhaktipada accepted a plea bargain just days after his second trial began. He served 8 years of a 12 year conviction and moved to India after his release.
New Vridivan was cut off by the governing body of the Hare Krishna movement in India, but in 1998 it was reinstated. Fox's obituary ends with an intriguing plug:
New Vrindaban was accepted back into the Hare Krishna movement in 1998. Today the community endures, though with fewer than 250 members. The elephant is long gone.
Visitors are always welcome, according to the Web site for the Palace of Gold, at $8 for adults and $6 for children. A snack bar serves Indian food, pizza and French fries.
What's interesting about Bhaktipada's rise and fall is that his leadership imported not only Indian traditions of faith, but the long-held convention of the grifter-swami.
Swami Bhaktipada, a former leader of the American Hare Krishna movement who built a sprawling golden paradise for his followers in the hills of Appalachia but who later pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges that included conspiracy to commit the murders-for-hire of two devotees, died on Monday in a hospital near Mumbai, India. He was 74.Images of a placid, robed monk offering flowers and cooking vegetarian meals seem to clash against those of smoke-filled backrooms where criminal conspiracy often happens. But replace the cigar smoke with wafting incense and you get the picture of a shady organization operating under the guise of a spiritually enlightened paradise.
In 1968 after rising through the ranks of the nascent Hare Krishna movement in New York City, Bhaktipada, who was born Keith Gordon Ham in upstate New York, established a spiritual center in West Virginia called New Vrindivan. It was named after the mythic pastoral idyll where the young avatar Krishna mingled with his devotees. Despite the golden domed architecture and the sprawling mountainous grounds replete with a wandering elephant, New Vrindavan was no paradise.
He funded the purchase of the property through the sale of counterfeit stickers, which, according to the Times netted over $10 million. Former devotees accused Bhaktipada and others of encouraging sexual abuse of minors.
In 1991, Bhaktipada was convicted on six counts of mail fraud and three counts of racketeering. Although an appeals court ordered a new trial in 1993, Bhaktipada accepted a plea bargain just days after his second trial began. He served 8 years of a 12 year conviction and moved to India after his release.
New Vridivan was cut off by the governing body of the Hare Krishna movement in India, but in 1998 it was reinstated. Fox's obituary ends with an intriguing plug:
New Vrindaban was accepted back into the Hare Krishna movement in 1998. Today the community endures, though with fewer than 250 members. The elephant is long gone.
Visitors are always welcome, according to the Web site for the Palace of Gold, at $8 for adults and $6 for children. A snack bar serves Indian food, pizza and French fries.
What's interesting about Bhaktipada's rise and fall is that his leadership imported not only Indian traditions of faith, but the long-held convention of the grifter-swami.
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