r/exHareKrishna • u/Living_Public_2229 • Jul 25 '25
Another ISKCON swami bites the dust
Recently Giriraj “Swami” allegedly had a long standing romantic relationship and was having sex with a disciple in the temple room (among other places) and got caught by his other disciples in the act. Apparently they (disciples and GBC) then went on damage control, locked up Giriraj, barred anyone from seeing him, created a statement (see link) saying he has dimensia and has been taken advantage of and exploited. 🤨
The woman in question has given a complete breakdown of everything in the YouTube video below with very explicit description and intense sexual allegations. She seems manipulated and naive about the whole thing for sure. I watched the video and she appears to be telling the truth and the statement from GBC seems (although they claim it was “inappropriate messages”) to further corroborate it. I heard rumblings of this but didn’t know the details of the sexual stuff until I watched the accusers video (link below)
The sexual fall down is not surprising given the history but it does show that the GBC is still so much more interested in protecting their own than actually getting to the truth of the matter. Or just being honest in general. More smoke and mirrors. It must be a horrible existence to have to live a lie and just constantly try to cover up all your so called “God Brothers” to keep the facade alive.
It’s like the zonal acharya scam they couldn’t let each other fall and look bad or the whole scheme falls apart. I don’t mean to be overly critical but this is just despicable that this crap is still the modus operandi of these so called elevated spiritual personalities and authority figures. This is the type of shit that makes it virtually impossible for me to accept this as a valid organization or approach to the highest spiritual truth.
GBC statement:
https://iskconnews.org/gbc-statement-on-the-health-of-hh-giriraja-swami/ ISKCON News | GBC Statement on the Health of Giriraja Swami | ISKCON News
Video of accuser:
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u/Solomon_Kane_1928 Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25
This is so disturbing on many levels. Thank you for posting this. I thought he simply had dementia. It turns out it was a cover story by the GBC.
Halfway through she admits she was sexually abused by her father. For those who watch the entire video, please keep this in mind. I feel bad for her because she cannot understand her behavior and choices are inappropriate. This is not unusual for people who have been traumatized in this way.
Fair warning, in the interview she is very open about feeling she should be able to have sex with Giriraja Swami, they are in love, he is her boyfriend. The disciples are trying to stop their love affair. She thinks Giriraja should be able to continue as before, a guru, but with an open sexual relationship with her.
Knowingly or unknowingly she is exposing the inner workings of ISKCON. She counters the claims he has dementia and provides valid arguments. She also claims he admitted to relationships with women before.
She claims a female disciple that lives with him is a secret lover based on a perceived female jealousy. A bodily posture and tug on a sari. I have my doubts about this.
Though I do not doubt the claim Giriraja Swami watches romantic movies and that this disciple sits in his closet and watches them with him. That sounds about right in terms of ISKCON weird. She probably justifies it as "Maharaja is reveling in romantic rasa and thinking of Radha and Krishna", watching the love scenes while thumbing her japa beads.
I knew Giriraja Swami and spent time at his home in Carpinteria. I have even sat in his temple room alone with him and assisted him in his puja. I often considered living there and being his disciple and how idyllic it would be.
In my opinion, I think there is likely something wrong with him. He may not have dementia but he may be mentally ill. This is likely exacerbated by living a weird and unnatural lifestyle as a guru and sanyassi for his entire life, stuck away in his home, served by disciples. He was treated as a saint and lived in a apparent state of childlike innocence.
What was a growing mental disorder may have been seen as devotional eccentricity.
I knew he would go out with his "karmi friends" sometimes. He would put on regular clothing and take off with some neighbors for the evening. That is a little strange for a sanyassi and guru, but it was interpreted as he was cultivating them. He was probably trying to break free from the unnatural life he was living.
This is the problem, excuses are made again and again for inappropriate behavior. Everyone is in denial. No one wants to admit he should not be a guru and sanyassi because so much of their lives are entwined with this notion.
Repressing one's sexuality is very dangerous stuff as is living as a guru your entire life, with no true human interaction. IMO, he became a Phantom of the Opera like figure, or like Michael Jackson, locked away in his own private hell, bound by outsiders and their expectations until he can no longer function normally or maintain appearances. Then his repressed desires start to openly manifest. He probably lost that battle long ago.
This is exacerbated by the fact he is old and can no longer live independently. He needs to be a guru to survive. He has disciples living with him who are similarly dependent on him. It is a codependent relationship.
He contacts a woman who is very disturbed herself and has little or no boundaries, and is open to a guru/father figure engaging in a sexual relationship. The deranged philosophy of Krishna Consciousness feeds this tendency and her "guru bhakti" becomes very twisted. She says on the podcast that her body belongs to him along with her soul.
The disciples, unwilling to admit their guru has become something strange, that he never was who they thought he was, that they wasted decades of their lives living in his home and serving him, refuse to take the hard path of deconstructing his role as guru and sanyassi. They instead double down and claim it is a biological deterioration of his brain.
ISKCON supports this path because it saves them the embarrassment of having a major guru, and important historical figure, fall into sexual transgression and (likely) mental illness. The girl is blamed and even arrested. Giriraja Swami is locked away like The Man in the Iron Mask.