Mad After Krishna: My Life in a Destructive Cult

This is the story of my years in the Hare Krishna Movement (also known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON). As young man I became fascinated with what appeared at first to be a disciplined, traditional Hindu denomination, but which quickly turned into a chaotic criminal gang. My travels took me from the western United States to ancient, rural India and back. I describe how my mother engineered my rescue and deprogramming, just as my health had begun to deteriorate. Finally, I offer a few thoughts on the nature of authoritarian religious sects in a democratic society.