This is the post ryan placed recently on "National". I
hope all EB'ers will carefully read it and respond
accordingly as their spiritual heart leads them. My
many thanks to ryan and Charles for allowing this
conversation to unfold in an open and mature fashion
on C Bible and Religion.
Ryan thoughtfully posted:
"too bad nevada isbn't still around to defend
her...lol...
" Butler's devotees were required to lie face down when
he entered a room, and some were even told to consume
his nail clippings, foot-washing water, or "spoonfuls"
of sand he had walked upon, "
Why Former Followers Of Her Guru Fear Tulsi Gabbard As
Director Of National Intelligence
Tulsi Gabbard’s ties to Chris Butler, a controversial
spiritual leader with extreme views and a history of
allegedly mistreating his flock, have made headlines
throughout her political career. And, after Donald
Trump nominated her to serve as his director of
national intelligence, one of the top Cabinet posts
leading the national security apparatus, some fear her
guru could be set to wield a dangerous level of
influence.
Many of those with the most vehement concerns are
people who formerly believed in Butler, whose main
organization is called the Science of Identity
Foundation. In conversations with TPM over the past
week, they described their worries and the unique
degree of involvement the guru has had in Gabbard’s
political career. This has included, according to one
ex-follower, Butler receiving detailed, regular
“reports” on her campaigns and his group sending
devotees to Gabbard’s events where they were “coaching
everybody on how to behave.”
One person who has raised alarms about Butler’s sway
over Gabbard is Anita van Duyn, who said she was among
his flock from 1977 until 1994.
“He micromanages everything and, if you’re his disciple
and he puts you in politics, he is going to micromanage
everything,” Van Duyn said of Butler in one of a series
of phone conversations with TPM. “That is my fear, that
we’re really putting a hollow person in this position.
That could be dangerous if the information gets in the
wrong hands. And I do believe that her allegiance is
first to her guru, second to her family, and third to
America.”
There is a long, dark history of political figures from
religious minorities having their fitness questioned on
the basis of their background. Faced with growing
questions about her association with Butler over the
years, Gabbard and her allies have tried to dismiss the
criticism as religious bigotry. However, van Duyn and
other former followers of Butler have made clear the
issues surrounding Gabbard’s guru are unique to his
conduct.
“This is not about religion. Anyone can follow any
religion they want,” van Duyn said. “This is about
behavior … and who a person takes guidance from, and
who they listen to. That is what we’re looking at
here.”
Van Duyn has gone public with her concerns about
Gabbard’s fitness for the powerful position, which is
often colloquially referred to as “spymaster,” ahead of
the confirmation hearings that are set to start on
Thursday morning. Along with giving multiple
interviews, van Duyn sent letters to lawmakers getting
set to vote on Gabbard’s nomination, warning that any
sensitive or classified information she would receive
as intelligence director could be “communicated to her
guru.”
Another former Butler follower also pointed to that
possibility in a series of conversations with TPM, and
said the guru has a history of receiving in depth
updates on her political work. The ex-follower said
Butler “was fully informed and involved” during one of
Gabbard’s campaigns. Specifically, the former follower
said Butler’s devotees gave the guru detailed reports
on her operations.
“They were sending reports of Tulsi’s campaign, of
everything from every social media post she’d made, and
all the comments she made, and just general reports
about her campaign straight to Butler,” the ex-follower
said.
The former follower of Butler’s group who described the
“reports” the guru received on Gabbard’s political
operation requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
They provided TPM documentary evidence and photos —
including some showing them with members of Butler and
Gabbard’s families — to verify their association with
the sect and knowledge of its leadership.
“I don’t believe Tulsi herself is especially
vindictive. Chris Butler is, and she’s essentially just
a puppet,” the former member said.
Gabbard is an Army National Guard veteran and active
member of the reserve. She was born in American Samoa
before her family moved to Hawaii. Both of her parents,
Carol and Mike Gabbard, have an extensively documented
history of being among Butler’s devotees. The former
follower described Mike Gabbard as one of Butler’s main
“deputies” in Hawaii. Mike Gabbard did not respond to a
request for comment on this story.
After serving on the Honolulu City Council, Tulsi
Gabbard held one of Hawaii’s two U.S. House seats as a
Democrat from 2013 until 2021. Gabbard also mounted a
brief, quixotic presidential campaign in 2020.
Key members of her team on Capitol Hill were followers
of Butler’s organization. Her donor lists were also
studded with people affiliated with Butler. On Tuesday,
the Wall Street Journal reported that, in 2017, a
“longtime political adviser” of Gabbard’s who was also
one of Butler’s followers helped oversee an effort in
which her congressional campaign hired a P.R. firm to
“suppress coverage of an alleged pyramid scheme” with
links to the sect.
In 2022, Gabbard, who had been warming to Trump and his
allies for some time, quit the Democratic Party. She
became a Republican two years later.
A staffer who worked with Gabbard during her political
career said there were concerns about the sect’s
involvement with her team and operations including
potential “lines of communication.”
“Lines of authority were unclear and there was maybe a
sense that people outside of the operation — unclear
who or unclear where — had some influence and sway over
what was going on in the operation,” the staffer said.
The staffer requested anonymity — including about the
part of Gabbard’s political operation in which they
worked — to avoid potential retribution, particularly
if Gabbard is confirmed as director of national
intelligence. That position would grant her oversight
over the FBI, CIA, and other agencies in the
intelligence community.
These worries about Butler’s relationship with Gabbard
— and her political operation — are particularly
notable since the guru has a history of extreme
positions and demands of intense fealty. And, while
some religious leaders have long sought influence
through endorsements and advocacy, Butler and his group
took things a step further. Butler’s network has
repeatedly sought to place members in elected office,
an effort that included establishing its own political
party.
Internet forums on cults, Hindu web communities, and
past reporting describe Butler’s sect as a stiflingly
insular and tightly controlled community. The former
members who spoke with TPM repeated some of those
accusations.
“We lived in fear of his anger and him being displeased
with us, and he didn’t care,” the former follower said
of Butler.
For her part, van Duyn rejects the “cult” label.
However, her assessment of the environment inside
Butler’s organization was similar to the charges levied
by some of the group’s many critics. Van Duyn said she
feels Butler’s group is best described as a “high
demand, high control sect.”
“When we were involved with him, we were a very
secluded, insular group of people. Basically, you
didn’t have much to do with the outside world unless
your instructions were to do something … and the only
instructions you got were from him,” van Duyn said. “It
wasn’t your parents. It wasn’t your family. It was him.
He controls everything.”
Butler, whose parents came from the mainland, moved to
Hawaii in his youth and began to build a spiritual
following as a yoga teacher. In 1971, he became a
disciple of A.C. Bhakitvedanta Swami Prabupadha, the
founder of the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness. Bhaktivedanta’s organization, which is
also known as the Hare Krishna movement, is part of the
Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu tradition. Broadly, the
movement is dedicated to meditation, chanting, yoga,
and service done as part of dedication to the Hindu
deity Krishna.
Butler, who is now in his 70s, ultimately split from
the larger Hare Krishna movement and built his own
spiritual empire. The exact size of Butler’s following
is unclear, but his organization has an international
footprint. According to one of the Science of
Identity’s websites, ”many disciples and students …
have also started yoga organizations and schools in
different countries.”
Among other places, the group has notable presences in
California, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Hawaii,
where Butler resides. Rather than a single individual
entity with a defined list of members, Butler’s
organization consists of multiple groups and ventures
centered around the Science of Identity Foundation, and
filled with his followers. A 1977 investigation
published by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper
noted the various “business enterprises” linked to
Butler and his followers included a health food store,
a publishing company, multiple newspapers, and a juice
brand. Aspects of this network continue to run today,
including the health food store.
Tulsi Gabbard campaigns for president in Malibu. (Photo
by Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty
Images)
Butler and the Science of Identity Foundation did not
respond to a request for comment from TPM that included
specific questions about the alleged “reports” he
received on Gabbard’s campaign operations, the group’s
presence at her political events, and the accusations
of mistreatment that have dogged him over the years.
The Trump White House referred a request for comment to
Alexa Henning, a spokesperson for Gabbard, who
responded with an emailed statement that described
questions about Gabbard’s relationship with Butler as
“bigoted smears” and emphasized her qualifications.
“Apparently, TPM has nothing better to do than keep
parroting the same false attacks and bigoted smears the
Democrats have been pushing against Lt. Col. Gabbard
for years. She is an active member of the US Army
Reserve who holds a TS/SCI security clearance with over
two decades of service to our country. She served eight
years in Congress on the Homeland Security, Armed
Services and Foreign Affairs Committees,” Henning
wrote, adding, “The corporate media and Democrats
oppose her because they know she will speak truth to
power and isn’t afraid to take on rogue bureaucrats and
those who politicize the IC, and this is why President
Trump nominated her for this critical role.”
Henning also stated Gabbard “has no affiliation with
this group.”
Van Duyn rejected the notion that Gabbard’s ties to
Butler can be boiled down to an official affiliation.
“She is his disciple,” van Duyn said of Gabbard. “There
is no organization. There is nothing you become a
member of.”
Gabbard herself called Butler her “guru dev,” which
means teacher, in a 2015 video.
The Trump administration shot back at the Wall Street
Journal’s reporting on Butler and Gabbard by calling it
“Hinduphobic smears.” However, former members have said
Butler’s practices deviate sharply from Hare Krishna
and other branches of the Hindu religion. And, while
Gabbard’s defenders in Trump’s operation have attempted
to dismiss critical coverage of her relationship with
Butler by framing it as an attack on Hinduism, the
former members who spoke with TPM said Butler never
identified his movement as Hindu internally.
“We were never allowed to say we were Hindus,” van Duyn
said.
The former member also said Butler specified to his
devotees that they were not Hindu.
“None of us in there identified as Hindu, specifically,
because Butler told us we were not Hindu,” the ex-
member said.
Butler also distanced himself from that description in
2017 when he responded to the New Yorker in one of the
first national magazine pieces on his relationship with
Gabbard.
“I’m not a Hindu, I’m not a Christian, I’m not a
Buddhist, I’m not a Muslim,” Butler said. “I’m an
eternal spirit soul — an atma, part and parcel of the
supreme soul.”
In that same interview, Butler talked about his
relationship with Gabbard. He compared his reaction to
her political success to that of a music teacher
watching one of their proteges play.
“He’s taught one of his students cello,” Butler said.
“And he sees that, oh, this student of mine is now
playing cello in the philharmonic orchestra. And it’s
beautiful.”
During her career, Gabbard has touted her pioneering
status as a “Hindu-American,” and has gained crucial
support from the community. The former Butler follower
said they hoped the community would re-evaluate
Gabbard.
“It’s hard for people who identify as Hindu to let go
of Tulsi Gabbard because she’s been so successful, but
I think she’s kind of … a poison drop in the bucket
because she can swear up and down she’s Hindu, but her
ultimate devotion is to Butler,” the former follower
said.
Rather than Hinduism, the ex-follower of Butler who
spoke to TPM said he generally referred to his
teachings as “bhakti yoga” or “devotional service.”
“And that meant devotional service to Krishna or his
representative, which is Butler,” the member said.
Indeed, according to many accounts, the main focus of
the group’s worship is Butler himself.
“He really does have a huge ego and thinks he’s God’s
conduit,” van Duyn said of Butler.
That veneration has reportedly included followers
eating his toenail clippings in their food. The ex-
follower who spoke with TPM claimed some devotees drank
water his feet were washed in or poured it on
themselves. They also said followers were encouraged
not to think for themselves.
“We were literally told not to let our mind dictate
what we did because we saw the mind as evil and … that
we had to get our mind under the control of Krishna and
Butler,” the former follower said.
Puranjana Dasa writes a newsletter for Krishna devotees
that has included criticism of Butler. In more than a
decade of writing, Dasa said he has heard many
troubling stories from people who were linked to the
Science of Identity Foundation. In a call with TPM,
Dasa said there are “bad elements going on” in Butler’s
movement.
“He’s very arrogant and I’ve heard that he’s like
germaphobic and he’s kind of becoming like Howard
Hughes,” Dasa said of Butler. “He can’t stand anybody
getting too near him.”
The ex-follower of Butler also said the guru insists on
“hospital level” sterilization.
Despite his concerns about the group, Dasa also shared
a unique perspective on Gabbard within the context of
Trump’s many other controversial Cabinet nominees.
“Tulsi has her problems. She has her flaws. She has her
ill motivations, you might say, but looking at a lot of
the people that they’re passing right now, I’m honestly
not too impressed with any of them … I wouldn’t want to
discredit her necessarily as being worse or better than
the rest of the group,” Dasa said, adding, “All the
candidates he’s brought out are just, they’ve got some
loopy little something about them. You know what I
mean? They’re just off.”
Some of Butler’s extreme views have been mirrored in
Gabbard’s political positions. Butler, for example,
denounced gay people in a late 90s recording obtained
by the Daily Beast where he described them in with a
series of vicious slurs.
“I think it’s sinful, I think it’s ugly, I think it’s
unhealthy, I think it’s unnatural,” Butler said of the
gay community.
Early on in her career, Gabbard joined her father in
anti-gay activism. She later became supportive of the
community and described the shift as a “personal
journey.” Butler also has taped lectures that have been
dubbed “Islamophobic.” After arriving on Capitol Hill,
Gabbard repeatedly pressed former President Barack
Obama to use the term “radical Islam” and to refer to
“Islamic extremists.” While many Republicans used
similar rhetoric, Gabbard’s push to have Obama embrace
the term “Islamic extremists” was particularly notable
since, at the time, she was a Democrat. The ex-follower
who spoke with TPM believed those positions were
evidence of Butler’s influence.
Then-House candidate Tulsi Gabbard speaks on stage with
other female members of Congress during day one of the
2012 Democratic National Convention. (Photo by Alex
Wong/Getty Images)
“She was trying to harass Barack Obama about calling
them ‘Muslim Islamic extremists’ specifically,” the
former follower said. “I think that was directly from
Butler. He got very pedantic about using certain terms
for things.”
Butler’s organization has a history of promoting
political figures that mirrored his values. In 1976, a
newly formed political party called “Independents for
Godly Government” ran a slate of 14 candidates for
local and federal office in Hawaii. The Honolulu Star-
Advertiser subsequently linked the party to Butler’s
group.
Bill Penaroza, one of the initial Independents for
Godly Government U.S. House candidates is the father of
Kainoa Penaroza, who, years later, served as Gabbard’s
chief of staff on Capitol Hill. Bill Penaroza did not
respond to a request for comment. Kathy Hoshijo, the
other House candidate on the Independents for Godly
Government slate, offered up a policy platform that
included criticizing other politicians for not offering
“prayerful supplication to God.” Her fiery rhetoric
clearly echoed Butler’s own critiques of materialism.
Hoshijo did not respond to a request for comment on
this story.
“We must have leaders who know that true happiness
comes from serving god, not from attaining power,
wealth or fame … otherwise we will have a hell on
earth,” Hoshijo said in August 1976.
Tulsi Gabbard’s father, Mike Gabbard, also pivoted from
anti-gay activism to a career in local politics in
Hawaii. He mounted a House bid in 2004 and fielded
questions about his extensive ties to Butler and the
group’s past attempts to back candidates. Mike Gabbard
described himself as a “Catholic” who was “eternally
thankful to Chris Butler.”
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s 1977 investigation
further said “a loose community of businesses” and
organizations linked to Butler’s group helped the
Independents for Godly Government candidates with
“bodies and bankrolls.” Butler’s network has given
Gabbard similar support in her political career.
Earlier this month, the New York Times noted the
“group’s followers have contributed volunteers and
money to Ms. Gabbard’s campaigns over the years.” The
former Butler follower who spoke to TPM said they
participated in “sign waving” for Gabbard and joined
her at events including congressional town hall
meetings where they received “coaching” from Butler’s
group on “when to clap,” the way “to show enthusiasm”
and “how to behave.” According to the ex-follower, the
group’s leaders heavily directed its presence at
Gabbard’s events.
“They would sprinkle them throughout the crowd, feed
them questions to ask and tell them what to say,” the
former follower said.
There was a good reason for all this effort and
enthusiasm. The former follower described Gabbard as a
fulfillment of Butler’s longstanding political mission.
“The way we all saw it in the group was that the world
is basically just full of sin, and garbage, and people
not wanting to follow God. And the whole goal was, if
you have godly leaders to restore godly people to
government, then you can kind of get the population
back in line,” the ex-follower said. “And it was kind
of like, that’s what Tulsi is doing, she’s a godly
person, she’s going into government to try and corral
the unruly population back in line.”
Van Duyn offered a similar view of Gabbard as the
culmination of Butler’s political mission.
“He’s got people who he’s been trying to get into
politics for a long time, and Tulsi is his golden
girl,” van Duyn said.
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Hunter Walker (@hunterw) is an investigative reporter
for Talking Points Memo. He is an author and former
White House correspondent whose work has appeared in a
variety of publications including the New Yorker,
Rolling Stone, and New York Magazine. He can be reached
at hunter@talkingpointsmemo.com"
Considering the interesting moment in time we all find
ourselves in, how would you respond, and if
appropriate, what solutions would you care to share?
Lee, aka nevada, lizardman...
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