ISKCON Sociopaths and “Rascals Intelligence”

http://www.harekrsna.org/guru-photos.htm

Sociopaths amongst devotees
by Anuttama devi dasi

I recently read a paper that described the qualities of people labeled “sociopaths”. Apparently 3%-5% of the population has a condition that means they have absolutely no conscience. They can do any act without feeling guilt. In addition they can look you in the eye and tell a believable, persuasive lie which they actually believe themselves to the point that they can pass a lie detector. These people have agendas to achieve goals such as wealth, fame and sex, but have no moral barriers to accomplish these goals. That gives them a huge advantage over the general population who are restrained by morality.

Previously, when people lived a more local lifestyle, the sociopaths were at something of a disadvantage because the community would get wise to the lies, cunning and deceit. The paper I read said that they have no friends, but rather accomplices and victims. In the modern lifestyle, the sociopaths can easily hide their affliction because people within a community rarely know each other and so the sociopath’s activities aren’t generally made public. Even within ISKCON, the sociopaths who have risen to power due to the gullibility of the nice devotees believing the sociopaths’ lies are able to hide their affliction by traveling and thus are able to conceal their abhorrent behavior.  

Apparently there is no cure for a sociopath because they like the way they are. It does give an individual a huge freedom, having no conscience.

It was a kind of awakening for me to read about this common affliction. Billy and I compared notes about people we have had contact with who are probably sociopaths. When you are aware that another person has a very different thought process, it helps with dealing appropriately with that person. They are also described in the Bhagavad-Gita under “The Divine and Demonic Natures.”

Sociopathy is chiefly characterized by something wrong with the person’s conscience. They either don’t have one, it’s full of holes like Swiss cheese, or they are somehow able to completely neutralize or negate any sense of conscience or future time perspective. Sociopaths only care about fulfilling their own needs and desires – selfishness and egocentricity to the extreme. Everything and everybody else is mentally twisted around in their minds as objects to be used in fulfilling their own needs and desires. They often believe they are doing something good for society, or at least nothing that bad. The term “sociopath” is frequently used by psychologists and sociologists alike in referring to persons whose unsocialized character is due primarily to parental failures (usually fatherlessness) rather than an inherent feature of temperament. Lykken (1995), for example, clearly distinguishes between the sociopath (who is socialized into becoming a psychopath) and a “true” psychopath (who is born that way). However, this may only describe the “common sociopath”, as there are at least four (4) different subtypes — common, alienated, aggressive, and dyssocial. Commons are characterized mostly by their lack of conscience; the alienated by their inability to love or be loved; aggressives by a consistent sadistic streak; and dyssocials by an ability to abide by gang rules, as long as those rules are the wrong rules. As Stout (2005) indicates, it only takes three of the following to be defined as a sociopath, and some common sociopathic traits include:

Egocentricity; Callousness; Impulsivity; Conscience defect; Exaggerated sexuality; Excessive boasting; Risk taking; Inability to resist temptation; Antagonistic, deprecating attitude toward the opposite sex; Lack of interest in bonding with a mate.

Comment by Kurma – not the chef: A lot of these new age voted in gurus appear to be quite normal, they use artificial charm and personal charisma to hook in followers, so it is not easy to recognise that they are deviants or disturbed. I believe that is why forums such as this Isthaghosti Forum are very very important, for giving people knowledge to be able to understand and recognise the personality type of deviants who are held in high esteem. I guess that one of the tell tale signs is that a bonafide guru is not interested in wealth, and followers. But within Iskcon this does not appear to be the case, rather, many of these gurus wealth could be floated on the stock exchange. Iskcon’s voted in sociopath guru, talks in a language used to confuse and convince their audience. They have all become very captivating story tellers and are very good at exuding a person’s self confidence and can spin a web that intrigues others because they are persuasive, and have a very good capacity to destroy their critics verbally or emotionally. They do not recognise your rights and see their self serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming, but when push comes to shove they are covertly hostile and domineering, and see people who have come to Srila Prabhupadas Movement as an instrument to be used by them. These Bogus voted gurus crave adulation and attendance and must be the center of attention with the fantasy that ..”they, are the spokesperson for God, …”enlightened, ..”leader of human kind etc, which creates an us-verses them mentality! How this could ever be viewed as something spiritual beggars belief!

“Rascals Intelligence” conversation by Srila Prabhupada

(Back To Godhead Magazine #24-03 -1989)

This is the continuation of a conversation between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and some of his disciples in New Vrindaban, West Virginia, on June 26, 1976.

etam drstim avastabhya nastatmano ‘lpa-buddhayah
prabhavanty ugra-karmanah ksayaya jagato ‘hitah

“Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.” – Bhagavad-Gita Gita As It Is Chapter 16 “The Divine & Demoniac Nature”,
Text 9. LINK: http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/16/9/en

Disciple: Srila Prabhupada, the Gita verse we’ve just read is very striking. Lord Krsna says that with their materialistic views, “the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.”

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Yes. Krsna says ugra-karmanah: these people are performing horrible works. The factory — this is ugra-karma, a horrible work. In reality, only a little karma, a little work, is required. You simply see to it, for instance, that some wheat is growing. A little tilling — that is sufficient What is the use of opening a big, big factory? That is ugra-karma. How has it helped? How has it helped that people are kept in some factory, simply for earning their livelihood. Just a little work will provide people’s needs. Nature has given so much facility. You can grow a little food anywhere. The cows are there in the pasturing ground. Take their milk and live peacefully. Why do you open factories? What is the use? You are simply keeping yourselves in a hellish condition. So this is the description given by Krsna in Bhagavad-gita. Now discuss these points.

Disciple: Srila Prabhupada. Krsna says demoniac leaders are engaging in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world. And you said this statement anticipates nuclear weapons. These words of Krsna are so true.

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Yes. God is speaking. Krsna is speaking.

Disciple: In college I was studying nuclear energy and thinking it would save the world — that by nuclear energy our leaders could give us bigger corn, bigger tomatoes, and . . .

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Bigger deaths. The ultimate result of these rascals’ work is bigger deaths. Everything must be big. Formerly, during some conflict, only a few men were dying: now, many hundreds of thousands will die. Bigger deaths. During your college days, you did not consider that these big leaders were bringing bigger deaths?

Disciple: In a way, Srila Prabhupada. It was very frustrating, because from every so-called good thing these people were trying to do, so many more bad things were coming forth.

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Karma jagat. The law of karma, which governs this material world, is that if you want to make a house, then somewhere you have to cut trees down. Somewhere you have to destroy — only then can you make your house. You have to “adjust” things like that. So in reality, you cannot create. You create your house by destroying somewhere else. Is it not? So where is your creation? Real creation is God’s creation. Without destroying anything. He has created everything. But if you want to create, then somewhere you have to destroy. That is the law of karma.

Disciple: Srila Prabhupada, as you know, in Chapter Seven of the Gita, Krsna describes rascals with the word duskrtina. And as you explain in the Purport, duskrtina indicates merit and intelligence. Misused, of course, yet very real merit and intelligence.

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Yes, intelligence. For example, after destroying a tree. you use your intelligence to construct a house. So you have intelligence. There is no doubt. A human being must have intelligence. But that intelligence is given to him for getting out of the clutches of birth, death, old age, and disease. Unfortunately, the so-called modern man is not using his intelligence for that purpose. Therefore, he is a duskrtina, a rascal. Intelligence he has got. We don’t say that modern man is unintelligent, that he is a complete fool. No. He has got intelligence. But he is utilizing that intelligence for duskarya, work which he should not have done.There are karya and duskarya, proper work and bad work. Man’s intelligence was given so that he could get relief from these clutches of birth, death, old age and disease. But that intelligence he’s not utilizing. He’s opening a factory and creating a completely different atmosphere, a bad atmosphere. Therefore, he is a rascal. To open a factory requires intelligence. All sorts of complicated machines have to be coordinated. So intelligence is there. But how is this intelligence being used? To keep people in a hellish condition of life. Therefore, modern man is a duskrtina, an intelligent rascal.

Disciple: Srila Prabhupada, it’s remarkable People have become so shortsighted. For instance, they open a factory for some kind of economic development but they’re not thinking of the factory’s ill effects. Water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, stress, broken families, delinquency, drugs, crime — so many things.

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Therefore Krsna calls them duskrtinas, and then He calls them mudhas, asses.

Disciple: At the same time, Srila Prabhupada. Krsna also says, mattah smrtir jnanam — “Everyone’s intelligence comes from Me alone.” So some might criticize that Krsna Himself is misleading people, giving people faulty intelligence.

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: You wanted to do something, so Krsna gives you the intelligence to do what you wanted. If you want to manufacture a very complicated machine. Krsna will give you that intelligence: “All right do like this. Here is how to manufacture.” But you’ll not hear Krsna when He says, sarva-dharman parityajya: “You rascal, give up all this and surrender to Me.” That is real intelligence. But you’ll not do it.

“Rascals Intelligence”
(Back To Godhead Magazine #24-03 -1989)