Unabridged Appreciations of Divine Or Demoniac?

Robert Eisenman

Robert Eisenman, Emeritus Professor of Middle East Religions and Cultures, California State University Long Beach, was the scholar whose books I read twenty years ago, which led to the writing of “Divine Or Demoniac? Spiritual Movements and the Enemies Within”
I am quite honored that he gave the following glowing testimonial:

“As the founder and director of the Institute for the Study of Judeo-Christian Origins at California State University Long Beach, I am both surprised and delighted to have come across “Divine Or Demoniac? Spiritual Movements and the Enemies Within” by Dhanesvara Das. Surprised in that he clearly demonstrates that the beliefs, practices and regimen of the earliest Judeo-Christians is almost totally consistent with the same of the much more ancient Vaishnava spiritual tradition of India. Delighted in that the question of the Judeo-Christian origins may have finally been put to rest. The similarities between the two cultures abound, so much so that we can consider them one and the same, excepting for minor differences that naturally arise in cultures over large geographical distances.
“Moreover, another key similarity between the Jewish-Christians and the Vaishnavas is the apocalyptic-eschatological perspective – the battle between the forces of light and those of darkness. Not only did this play out in the Jerusalem War against the Romans, and the destruction and scattering of the original Jewish-Christians, but as Das explains, is to be understood as an ever-ongoing battle. He explains and demonstrates that the attacks have been, and continue to be, carried out, even today against the modern Vaishnavas.
“With this work Dhanesvara Das has shown himself to be a person of great understanding of spiritual principles, culture and history. This is a work of superb scholarship, and is recommended to both biblical scholars and researchers of religious history. This book is also highly recommended to anyone looking to make the connection between ancient and modern religious history.”

Kala Das

My son Krishna Das gifted me “Divine or Demonic” for “Father’s Day” which I read in 3 days and then lent out to Bala Krishna Prabhu in Saranagati.
I have to say that this book has disturbed my mind as I have hung on (for many many years) sidestepping the many land mines ready to explode my fragile relationship with ISKCON.
I will continue to try and do some service to Srila Prabhupad however I refuse to follow blindly individuals based on “popularity” or just because they hold a “ title” “ “wear saffron” or “ speak nicely”
I have heard all the rumors surrounding many of the issues you have written about in such a scholarly, comparative, and fact-backed way that I now accept the conclusions you have backed up with evidence.
I watch “Forensic Files” on TV and many crimes committed decades ago were left unsolved until DNA studies revealed the methodology used in the crimes and linking the criminals to the scenes of those crimes.
You have done the same in your book.
As long as ISKCON leaders refuse to accept factual findings of wrongdoing then they remain culpable.

More from Kala Das

Yesterday I started reading your new book “Divine or Demoniac”. My son gifted it to me for Father’s Day on my request. I truly appreciate you getting this book and history out to the public. It is a painful but necessary read to understand what has been done to undermine Srila Prabhupad and Krishna’s efforts to help society at large through ISKCON. We direct initiates of Srila Prabhupad have been suffering this onslaught of Kamsa’s agents from the get go.

Your book has presented a very good understanding of what has decimated ISKCON. There are many more stories and accounts of this nature which have been shared and are yet to be shared.
I struggled a bit with the first 50 pages, but by the end of the first day of reading discovered myself on page 260. Most likely I will finish it today (total 440 pages of text).

The book brings out the warrior in me to do my best to live up to the standards Srila Prabhupada wanted us to follow and to get the original version of his books out to everyone.

Having directly served under a number of these infiltrators while they did their dirty business these stories are very personal experiences and infuriate me now as they did at the time of execution. However since I am very small I felt defeated years ago when I challenged some of these matters directly and was tagged as a dog and given a bad reputation to be hung. I can tell you more about that some other time.

Thank you for your efforts and definitely keep it up.
Kala Dasa (ACBSP)

Dhira Govinda Dasa:
I congratulate you on this accomplishment, and I’m personally very enthused that this book is completed and will soon be available. As you’re aware, I have read parts of it, and I look forward to reading it cover-to-cover. And I will encourage others to get and read the book. I regard this book as an important, profound service to Srila Prabhupada’s movement – hopefully, one that will have an auspicious impact for generations and centuries.

BV Nemi Swami:
Thank you so much for this book. It is amazing! I have never examined the history as you have. It is almost midnight, and I have just finished the chapter on Paul. You have confirmed in great detail what I have accepted only in outline. I will certainly recommend people to read it. I must say, a glance at the contents promises a very bumpy read, when you get to present-day ISKCON.
I will probably write again when I have read more. Meanwhile congratulations on this extraordinary achievement.

Anuttama Devi Dasi:
I just finished reading the 6th chapter. What an eye-opener! Bravo! But it also made me want to cry. Irreligion posing as religion and taught to children. No wonder things are so messed up. I can see where you’re going with this and can imagine that the Kamsas and Putanas who have infiltrated ISKCON will do whatever they have to to keep this from being accepted.
I really like how you analyze just what ISKCON is. And I’m amazed how you avoided pointing any specific fingers and anyone. At the same time, you lead the reader to draw conclusions.

Bhakta Robert:
     I wanted to thank you for bringing the Essenes back to life for me with such relevance… their history has long fueled my imagination and speculation about a better world that I believe has always been just beyond our reach. Likewise with the degradation of ISKCON and the GBC which seemed so bewildering to me just 5 years ago when I caught sight of the trouble myself for the first time.
      The Table of Contents serves as a comprehensive reference on these & related subjects. I’ve just been clicking from one heading to another and can’t put it down. I cannot see how one can be intelligent, sensitive, unselfish and well-informed in the age we live in without independently coming to your own conclusions. . .
     Your work can also serve as a guide for those who choose to remain in those institutions in the hope of strengthening them from within and preserving the good that remains.

Bhaktin Emily:
   A question I had for many years, is how can so much bad happen in ISKCON? Your book has given me complete and satisfying answers. No matter how horrible it is, once you get your head around it, it is easier to go forward knowing the truth.
      There is a huge urgency about the state of Prabhupada’s mission. People need to read your book to get to the point where they want to create something new. Therefore it is like an essential bridge from the mess we are in now to wherever it is that we are going next.
      I liked the form vs substance description and I liked the way it referred to different characters from sastra as examples. You make a very good point with Putana that one needs to be qualified to recognise who is qualified. These are straightforward points that describe nicely what needs to be said. Your book is a very valuable piece of writing on a most important subject.

Name Withheld Devi Dasi (for fear of ISKCON reprisal):
     Thank you so much for writing this book. I devoured it. It struck such a cord for me. I had a hard time putting it down. It hit a very deep nerve and it re-sparked my determination to do my utmost to become as pure a Vaisnava as I can. The deep commitment and fervor to serve God I felt as a child and as a young adult burst into flame again. I’m experiencing a revival in enthusiasm and consciousness that I hadn’t expected when I started reading your book.
     I feel very close to Prabhupada, and I feel strongly about devotees changing his books, but I always had a hard time understanding how this can happen when he was with us not so long ago…
     I now have the vijnana of how severely detrimental is the watering down of Prabhupada’s instructions and mood to the consciousness of everyone. I hadn’t realized before how much it had affected me.
I am very grateful to you for this book. It is a gem.

Mukunda Swami:
Let me start out by praising your commitment, depth of research and gallantry. Your dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s mission and instructions are inspirational.
     For many years, I watched the ever-deteriorating situation within the institution of ISKCON. I could never quite discern what went wrong. Fall-downs, Prabhupada’s faithful disciples pushed out (sometimes physically removed), crimes, absolutely ZERO preaching or follow-up with non-Indians, book changes, deity worship changes……. You know the list well.
      Did I ever suspect poisoning or that the entire post-1977 ISKCON was built upon lies? No. But, I do now. All of the pieces have come together to form an undeniable truth: an intentional hijacking and brilliantly planned destruction of the movement from within.

Aja Dasa (ACBSP)
Outstanding! This is an Outstanding Book for Followers of Srila Prabhupada!  I can hardly adequately describe this book by Dhanesvara Das.  It is both scholarly and visionary, giving a thorough sense of the beauty of original pure spiritual movements, and the mentality of those who would seek to destroy them; Even as it relates to our society in general and the dark forces that tend to check even natural, what to speak of spiritual ideals. . . Dhanesvara’s descriptions of Srila Prabhupada’s simple yet elegant approach to applying the principles of devotional organization were clarifying and inspirational.  I felt like I was back in ‘the good old days’ and that they could easily be manifested again!  I would highly encourage any and all devotees of Srila Prabhupada and followers of Lord Chaitanya’s transcendental sankirtana movement to read and understand this gem.

Amazon Customer:
From the revelatory understanding of the actual character of the earliest Christianity, we are taken to the early seventies to see how similar teachings to that of Jesus Christ have been met with corresponding measures by the powers of our times. Chapter by chapter we are guided into a world of disbelief as the true nature of some of the contemporary spiritual leaders of the Hare Krishna movement is revealed. Followers of the teachings of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, may react to these eye-opening accounts in one of two ways: Either with utter disbelief and agitation, or with deep relief and exhilaration. Whichever may be the case, this is a book with life-changing potential and will for sure cause an upset in the political status quo of The Hare Krishna society. In my case there is no doubt. Outside the transcendental Vedic literatures given by Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada this is the most interesting book of my life. A highly recommended read!

This was a fascinating look at how real eternal religion is attacked from within by powerful and demonic forces.
Very thought provoking
For those seeking to know how pure Vaishnava teachings can get so diluted and convoluted especially when it leaves mother India this book is a real eye-opener.
Thanx a million

BrendaBonnBooks
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT BOOK, WELL WRITTEN, HONEST
LIKED WHOLE BOOK
September 10, 2019

The world we live in is essentially for those who wish only to forget about serving the only true enjoyer…. Krishna….(God)…..
Is it really so astonishing then, that when a true lover of God comes to such a place, that he or she is treated with disrespect, and his or her writings are intentionally altered and exploited, and the exquisitely divine message is twisted to exert control over the general masses for profit and fame? Leaving in its wake crimes of violence and shocking corruption.
This book is spot-on and well-researched… history always repeats. But there will always be a special few who will speak up…a special few who will not fall, cannot be intimidated. A special few who have accepted the essence and will fight to the death to preserve, protect, and distribute the spiritual treasure…. this book is highly recommended to those who are thoughtful and only seek the truth.

The comparison of Christianity to Krishnanity is quite amazing. Indeed without the personal presence of a liberated soul (Vaishnava) institutions are practically doomed to fail although a facade of great brilliance may even remain.

Madhavi Devi Dasi:

Lord Sri Krishna’s pure devotee, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, carried the most precious fruits from Lord Chaitanya’s storehouse of love of God and distributed them throughout the world.

Thousands of young adults dropped everything to join Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental mission. But after his departure in 1977, chaos swept in, like a tsunami.

Years later, his dedicated followers are still picking up the pieces, while unanswered questions continue to haunt.
What happened?
How?
Why?
What could we have done?
What can we do?

Dhanesvara’s brilliant book, “Divine or Demoniac?” provides many profound answers to these questions. He takes us on an amazing, and even scholastic, journey through the activities of Jesus and his followers, and how they were attacked by the Kamsas and Putanas, who always try to kill baby Krishna whenever and wherever He takes birth in the hearts of the conditioned souls by the association of Krishna’s pure devotee, with the intention of bewildered them to give up real spiritual principles.

In the words of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur:
“…King Kamsa is the typical empiricist, ever on the lookout for the appearance of the Truth, for the purpose of suppressing Him before He has time to develop.”

Therefore the Kamsas send the Putana minions to kill baby Krishna in our hearts. The birth of the Lord in the hearts of the devotees always threatens the raksasas, and our ISKCON society was no exception from the assault of the Kamsas.

The upbeat message of Dhanesvara Prabhu’s book takes us through the ISKCON history of deviations, abuses, and offenses, giving us a deep perspective of how the Kamsas and Putanas tried to kill every single bhakti lata bija that Srila Prabhupada had planted. Then he brings us back to the transcendental message we all gave our lives to spread.

Nothing can stop this Sankirtan movement. We need only turn our backs on the deviations and deviators with nothing to fear, and nothing to lament, and focus on distributing the fruits of love of Krishna from the storehouse of Lord Caitanya. The more we do so, the more they will increase!

This is a must read book!