Two ISKCON devotees, one in jail, one espousing Hinduism.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has had its share of controversies since its inception in the sixties, but it was again in the headlines last week when a self-proclaimed devotee, Aniruddha Sherbow, threatened to kill Hawaiian Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, because he felt she was not behaving in a way appropriate to the tenets of the religion, which is an offshoot of Hinduism.
According to the criminal complaint unsealed by Federal authorities, Sherbow, a philosophy major and writer, who is also a devotee of ISKCON, has been threatening Gabbard since 2011, when she served the Honolulu City Council. She had to take a restraining order against him. Last month, he dashed off an email to the FBI with the headline: “Cutting Off Tulsi Gabbard’s Head.â€
In correspondence with watchdog.org, Sherbow said he felt compelled to contact Gabbard initially because “he was born into the same obscure Western-Hindu tradition as Tulsi, the Hare Krishna Movement, also known as the Brahma Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya.â€
Gabbard is arguably the most well-known modern-day follower of Brahma Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya, also known as Gaudiya Vaishnavism. She is the only practicing Hindu to be serving in the Congress of the United States. Born in 1981 in American Samoa, Gabbard is the daughter of a Catholic father, Mike Gabbard, and Carol Porter Gabbard, a Caucasian Hindu. Her mother is a follower of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, and Gabbard adopted it too in her youth.
ISKCON has been in existence since 1966, when it was founded in New York City by Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Also known by many as the Hare Krishna Movement, ISKCON is, at its most essential, a branch of Hinduism that practices a more focused and intense devotion to the Hindu god Krishna, as well as his consort Radha. Widely portrayed in the media over the years as a ritualistic, spiritual society of mystics and prophets – ones that famously won over the hearts and minds of Beatles, among other notable celebrities – ISKCON has also been the subject of various controversies in its time, typically the ones associated with an extremist cult.
Most recently, the Russian government attempted to institute a ban on the Bhagavad Gita, because of the book supposedly containing passages that endorsed “religious extremism.†It prompted a sharp response from ISKCON and the Hindu-American Foundation (HAF).
Gaudiya Vaishnavism was so named because of where it originated from (the Gauda region of West Bengal) and because “Vaishnavism†is the ancient practice of worshipping Vishnu, of whom Krishna is considered an avatar. Gaudiya Vaishnavism’s beginnings occurred centuries ago; it was started by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a social reformist who believed that devotion to Krishna was the purest way to live life. Mahaprabhu attained legions of followers, and many people today practice Gaudiya Vaishnavism in various forms because of his teachings.
However, despite Sherbow’s claim that ISKON is the same as Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the main difference between the two lies in their interpretation of certain religious texts; specifically, each follows a different translation of the Bhagavad Gita.
Gaudiyas follow the Vaishnava translation, while ISKCON follows the specific translation of the text as written by Prabhupada, their founder. That translation is widely available today, including from online vendors, and has become the basis of the ISKCON and Hare Krishna theology.
While Gabbard has been largely embraced by the Hindu population of the US – which, according to the HAF, is estimated at about 2.29 million as of 2008 – many Hindus and non-Hindus remain unclear about what exactly she practices, since she is a child of mixed religions.
But Gabbard in the recent past has proved by her actions and words her close ties to Hinduism.
In an interview with the professor of religion, Prothero, and which was published in USA Today, she reaffirmed her devotion to the Bhagavad Gita. She said in that interview: “The world’s most famous Hindu, Mahatma Gandhi … worked tirelessly for the welfare of his country and all of humanity without any thought of personal gain, leaving his ultimate success or failure in God’s hands.’”
She has also become a role model for youth who follow Hinduism in the US. This summer itself, she has made the rounds of several Indian American events, some of which have been propagated by the ideals of Hinduism.
She attended the Dharma Bee in Chicago where she gave away prizes to the winners, was a speaker at the Hindu Youth Awards Gala in Houston, was a star attraction at the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin Convention, and later this month is slated to be the keynote speaker at the HAF gala dinner in Milpitas, California, on September 14th.
In an interview to The American Bazaar, the HAF Executive Director Suhag Shukla explained what it meant for devotees like Gabbard, who come from mixed religion households, to uphold the principles of Hinduism.
“Each couple deals with religion differently,†said Shukla. “For those traditions where the spouse is required to convert before a marriage can take place, obviously Hinduism will not continue to the next generation.  But some opt for raising their children as “good human beings†[without] any exposure to either religion, while others may choose to teach their children the values of the different religions of the parents.  And as is true around the globe generally, the mother’s religious tradition and values do have a higher likelihood of being passed on to the next generation than that of the father.â€
Dr. Varun Suri, Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California (USC), wrote in a piece last year for the Huffington Post about Tulsi Gabbard, that “Unlike other major religions, Hinduism is a decentralized tradition with no underlying creed, ritual, pilgrimage, liturgy, worship, language or canon that is authoritative for all Hindus,†a statement that Shukla disagrees with.
“Dr. Suri’s conclusion represents both an inaccuracy and over-generalization.  There are definitely concepts which the whole of Hinduism, including all darshanas, sampradayas, and individual devotees, would agree upon.  These include acceptance of the sanctity of the Vedas and other Hindu scripture; belief in one all-pervasive Divine (Brahman) which has no form or manifestations and is worshiped in infinite forms; belief in the laws of karma, dharma, reincarnation; and understanding the ultimate goal of spiritual life to be enlightenment (moksha).â€
Another point of contention between Gabbard and the majority of Hindu-Americans is her stance on gay marriage, of which she is a supporter of a Constitutional amendment to allow the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples.
“As for Hinduism and homosexuality, as with any other religious traditions, there is not going to be consensus,†said Shukla. “Indeed, Hindu society is still by and large socially conservative and marriage has traditionally been defined as between a man and a woman.  However, many Hindus also acknowledge that societal attitudes are different from religious/spiritual teachings.  In some instances, Hindu priests are performing the marriage samskara for same-sex couples [in Nepal and the US].â€
Gabbard’s religion will undoubtedly continue to raise eyebrows from both Hindus and non-Hindus across the country, but her election – regardless of her affiliation with ISKCON and Gaudiya Vaishnavism – is a positive step, says the HAF. “We at HAF have long argued that while the racial glass ceiling may have been broken through in the political sphere, there still exists a barrier on the basis of religion, a religious litmus test, so to speak. The message sent to young Hindu Americans was a discouraging one until the election of Tulsi Gabbard.â€
When asked about how they would define ISKCON, the HAF said, “The same way that ISKCON has described itself — a worldwide movement representing the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya [Hindu religious traditions] within the broad Hindu family of faiths.â€
While Gabbard has not yet spoken about the threat to her life from Sherbow, her office issued a statement saying “the congresswoman is grateful for the work of the U.S. Capitol Police, FBI, and all law enforcement officers involved in this investigation.â€
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com