Eleven Naked Emperors: The Crisis of Charismatic Succession in the Hare Krishna Movement

by Henry Doktorski

Eleven Naked Emperors is quite masterful, and extremely important. The story is a long and complicated one, but Doktorski has done an outstanding job putting the entire drama into a very well documented and highly readable account. His tone is remarkably non-partisan, non-polemical and he has tried sincerely to be fair and impartial. I might add, for those who feel that dirty laundry should not be displayed in public, that there is nothing in Doktorski’s work that seeks to undermine the faith of the devotees in Krishna or, for that matter, in the institution of ISKCON. Those assuming the role of gurus, most especially, should read this book carefully. And this is also a book for the tens of thousands of devotees driven away from ISKCON with their spiritual ideals in tatters; this is their story too. The author has risen to the dharma of the historian in documenting a defining period in the history of the Hare Krishna movement. Edwin Bryant Professor of Hindu Philosophy and Religion Rutgers University DURING A DISPUTATIOUS DECADE, after they had buried the saintly Founder of the institution, the Governing Body Commission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)—more commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement—appointed eleven men as successors to the Founder in what one disciple called “a bloodless coup.” Each of the eleven ruled their own geographic regions (zones), where they were erroneously regarded as pure and perfect beings (acharyas). They were considered beyond criticism and worshiped “as good as God.” The eleven, however, pretended to be something they were not (like the main character in Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes), and within a few short years insurmountable problems afflicted some of the ISKCON “gurus,” such as falling down into prohibited activities, like illicit sex and intoxication. Unfortunately, the astute and dedicated disciples who criticized the zonal “acharyas” were shunned, expelled, beaten, or (in one extreme case) assassinated. Hundreds, if not thousands of formerly-loyal members defected, were blacklisted, or (in two cases) committed suicide. This book chronicles the era of the ISKCON zonal “acharyas” from their first appearance in 1978, through their meteoric rise to power, their ten-year reign, their fall in 1987, and beyond. For fifteen years the author served as a faithful disciple of one of the zonal “acharyas,” and lived through many of the events described in this book. Recently, he has interviewed major players in this drama, who have contributed important inside information so we can more fully understand this controversial and little-documented chapter in the history of ISKCON.

549 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2020

Reviews

[Abhay Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well researched study of an embarrassing period of the Hare Krishna movement’s early history. The book is excellent in covering the facts, including testimony from witnesses. I can’t give it five stars simply because the book is incomplete. Towards the end it touches on the accountability of ISKCON’s founder acarya Srila Prabhupada, but fails miserably to fully expound on his responsibility for his eleven disciples swerving off course and setting themselves up as megalomaniacs claiming zones of the world as their personal fiefdoms. This study of a religion turning feral is fascinating, but the book unfortunately lets the main player off, without fair scrutiny of his role in this debacle. The book also touches on Srila Prabhupada’s awarding of clearly unqualified disciples to the sannyasa order - including his referring to his most egregious disciple, Kirtanananda, as a pure devotee. Kirtanananda was a sexual abuser of children; and a criminal implicated in the murder of an ISKCON member. It defies logic therefore how Srila Prabhupada could have given this disciple (and the other ten) such power in his movement. And it also defies logic why Srila Prabhupada failed to make crystal clear just how his movement would be run after his demise, including the crucial question of how new disciples would be initiated into the spiritual movement. I am hoping that the writer of this excellent book will consider completing the story, by fully covering all of the reasons for the zonal acharya debacle - including the central cause of this situation - the founder’s abject failure to recognise ‘naked emperors’ when the evidence was staring him in the face.

[Nancy McQueen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bring clarity to the chaotic period in ISKON.

[Michael Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic read. Wow. Enlightening, informative, and it brought in many perspectives. Especially from well rounded and well meaning dissidents from within ISKCON. On many of the Hare Krishna websites that criticise ISKCON, there can be a lot of emotion, but a lack of analysis. But what Henry Doktorski has brought in, is a very well balanced piece of historical prose to an extremely pandemonious period to ISKCON. Yes, there were many names of many devotees, those of which I still don't remember off by heart - but history upon history and development of what happened during the period of the zonal acharyas in 1977 to 1987 is incredibly fascinating. I definitely am falling into this ISKCON history rabbit-hole. It may be an obsession with the organisation, despite having left it after 5 months of being heavily involved. There is something deeply intriguing about the the politics, the history and how the philosophy is implemented in reality, and even the business model and marketing tactics. Religiously, this book is not focused on those particular matters, but it explores the human dimension, the flaws, the psychological aspect of the human experience in a religious organisation, with a Hare Krishna twist. Highly recommend, although to non-ISKCON people it may make very little sense, and I would recommend people read a precursor book prior to embarking on this mammoth of a historical journey.