Thousands of these documents and emails from the covert Science of Identity political operation have been independently examined by the Washington Post. The content on this website is attributed solely to the site's author.
Chris Butler demands that Hindu organizations rally to defend him and his protege, Tulsi Gabbard. Behind their backs, he ridicules even Paramahansa Yogananda, the man who brought yoga to the West.
When any journalist questions Tulsi Gabbard or her guru, "Jagad Guru" Chris Butler, he demands that his network call it "Hinduphobia." Tulsi Gabbard's guru Chris Butler lines up Hindu groups to publicly defend him and Tulsi, using operatives including Sunil Khemaney, Tulsi herself, and the Hindu American Foundation. 1
Meanwhile, Butler privately mocks the most beloved Hindu teachers in the world. This is the third in a series on the Hindu paths his network targets. This one may be the most revered figure yet: Paramahansa Yogananda, the saint who introduced millions of Westerners to yoga and meditation.
Butler tells his followers to line up Hindu groups to defend him
In the transcripts, Butler's operation is explicit about wanting respected Hindus and Hindu institutions out front as a shield, including, by name, "Hindus… ISKCON Hawaii, HAF," and others, and Hindu individuals "like Suhag or HAF or whatever." 1
Publicly, Butler's people insist that any scrutiny of him is an attack on all Hindus.
Butler attacked Paramahansa Yogananda, one of the most respected Hindu teachers in the world
Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) is widely called the "Father of Yoga in the West." He arrived in the United States in 1920 and that same year founded the Self-Realization Fellowship to share the practice of Kriya Yoga meditation. More than anyone, he opened the door through which yoga and meditation entered American life. 2
His memoir, Autobiography of a Yogi
, published in 1946, became one of the most influential spiritual books ever written. It has sold more than four million copies, was named one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century," and has introduced generations of readers to the meditative traditions of India. 3
Its reach is hard to overstate: it was the only book on Steve Jobs's iPad, the book he reread every year, and the gift he chose for the five hundred guests at his own memorial. 4
Here is the twist. Chris Butler casts himself as the one true teacher in a sea of frauds, and that means tearing down even the gentlest and most respected of his fellow Hindu masters. In his recorded religious lectures, he ridiculed Yogananda by name.
"A total bogey yogi" teaching "nonsense"
In a 1991 lecture, Butler boasted about how hard it was to pull his followers away from their love of Yogananda, and explained that the problem was simple: the man was a fake.
"It would take a year before they can get over this feeling of loyalty and personality cult that they had around Paramahamsa Yogananda. So even though somebody is teaching nonsense, a total bogey yogi, they still find it very difficult to get over their attachment…"
Chris Butler lecture, "Parampara Versus Personality Cults," July 14, 1991 5
"An impersonalist" running "a personality cult"
In the same lecture, Butler dismissed Yogananda as a spiritual counterfeit his followers should never have served, and reduced the devotion of millions to a mere "personality cult."
"I've had people who even after I've convinced them that Paramahamsa Yogananda was an impersonalist and that he's not the one you should be serving, they still… a personality cult… you're in a very dangerous position."
Chris Butler lecture, "Parampara Versus Personality Cults," July 14, 1991 5
Lumped in with frauds who say "God died"
A decade earlier, Butler had already filed Yogananda away among the "impersonalists" and "Mayavadi philosophers" he holds in open contempt.
"Swami Muktananda, Paramahamsa Yogananda, all of these different impersonalists, Mayavadi philosophers… or in the Christian world you have those who say that… God died on the cross…"
Chris Butler lecture, "Lord Nrshinghadev's Appearance Day," May 17, 1981 6
Butler's sickening hypocrisy
The irony writes itself. Butler sneers that Yogananda's followers are trapped in "a personality cult," while Butler himself runs one of the most documented personality cults in modern America, demanding that hundreds of followers treat devotion to him as a "spiritual duty." He calls Yogananda "a total bogey yogi," while living in luxury in Kailua, Hawaii, on the free labor of disciples told it was their duty to render "devotional service" to him and his wife, Huilan Zhang (aka Wai Lana).
One man brought yoga to America and asked for nothing but that people meditate. The other scripts a congresswoman from the shadows, builds a cult around himself, and cries "Hinduphobia" the moment a reporter notices.
"Hinduphobia" is simply a calculated attack weapon that Butler and Tulsi Gabbard aim at critics. This is an extreme case of the pot calling the kettle black.
