Chris Butler, using the pen name Bo Zhongyan (
柏忠言
), coauthored anti-Western books in China with his wife Wai Lana (Zhang Huilan,
张蕙兰
). They described Westerners as
"no more than dogs"
and dedicated their 1986 book to
"the great and magnificent Chinese nation"
—
这个伟大，壮丽国家的全体中国人民.
Source
Note: Thousands of decrypted documents and emails from Butler's secret political operation have been independently examined by the Washington Post. The content on this website is attributed solely to the site's author.
Tulsi Gabbard's guru, Chris Butler, would often fly into a rage over a tiny mistake, reverse himself without warning, and "fire" people who were not even paid. That unpredictability was the point. It kept everyone afraid. Underneath the chaos ran a deliberate machine of fear, and the teachings below, in his own words, are how he built it.
Chris Butler is the founder of the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF), a small, secretive religious organization. He is Tulsi Gabbard's guru, and he controlled her political life from the beginning. This post is about how he held that control: by demanding total submission and ruling his inner circle through fear.
First-person account
Chris Butler demanded extreme submission from his disciples and serious students. He was prone to suddenly flying into rages, erratically changing his mind, and "firing" people, even those who were not paid. Certain people bore the brunt of his wrath more than others.
Many people did not know this side of him. But every single person who spent time within his inner circle did. I tried to minimize contact with him for this reason, though many people considered it a badge of honor to have close access. That access was then used to reinforce a hierarchy over everyone else. 1
Below are 23 verbatim quotes from Butler's lectures. 2
These are not isolated moments. He describes questioning him as spiritual suicide, and his actions reinforced these principles at every level. His strategies went well beyond what you would see in a typical high-control religious group. The 23 quotes below are just what he said out loud. His actions backed every word: blackballing people, smear campaigns, and cutting people off from their own families.
A note on sources.
Butler uses the title "Siddhaswarupananda" (his initiated name from A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON) and also refers to himself as "Srila Prabhupada," the same honorific used for his own guru. "Jagad Guru" ("world teacher") is another title Butler adopted. 3
Lecture codes (for example, A48A3-B2) are internal Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) catalog identifiers.
The guru is God
3 quotes
"To accept someone as guru means to accept them as non-different than Krishna. If I'm hiding my mind from gurudev then it means that I am not surrendering. I'm not accepting him as the representative of Krishna."
September 10, 1995 · Lecture A48A3-B2 4
"Gurudev is not a different individual people, gurudev really means non-different than Lord Nityananda. It is love for Krishna. Gurudev is love for Krishna."
Undated lecture · Lecture A69A2-A 5
"Once Krishna has shown a person, 'Here is the representative of Krishna,' once Krishna is giving a person this vision then that person cannot, through mental speculation, put themselves in this position above the spiritual master and Krishna otherwise they are doomed, they are doomed, they have no entrance into spiritual life. They commit the greatest offence, elephant offence: blasphemy against the vaisnavas."
April 19, 1998 · Lecture D27A3-A, "Accepting Real Discipleship" 6
Butler as God's representative
2 quotes
"If you surrender to Siddhaswarupananda, Srila Prabhupad, then your life will be perfect. You don't need to do anything else."
December 7, 1999 · Lecture A72A3 7
"Somebody may say, 'Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda is the representative of God.'"
Undated lecture 8
Total surrender required
2 quotes
"I have surrendered everything unto you, my life, my money, my time, my strength, my pride, my intelligence, my worries, everything, my body, my mind, possessions, power to defend myself, everything I have, I place at your lotus feet."
August 20, 2003 · Lecture A114A3 9
"Yes, if we surrender to our spiritual master one pointedly then we can attain Krishna."
December 7, 1999 · Lecture A71A3-B2 10
The guru's instructions are your "life and soul"
3 quotes
"He followed his spiritual master's instructions as his life and soul. And the result is that Krishna is pleased with him. Because he is surrendered Krishna is pleased with him."
Undated lecture · Lecture A05A3, "Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami's Appearance Day" 11
"Yes, I want to be your disciple. Let me give you my life. Let me follow your instructions. Let me make your commandment to me my life and soul."
October 26, 1986 · Lecture C15V1-B, "Christ's Crucifixion: The Ultimate Offence" 12
"If a person is diplomatic or political in his relationships with his guru, he does not appreciate the transcendental nature of his guru then automatically he will not be able to take the instruction of his guru as his life and soul."
Undated lecture 13
Spiritual destruction for questioning him
5 quotes
"If, in addition, you have exploited your spiritual master's name and peoples' faith in him in order for you to exploit them, this is the most demoniac thing. This is a most offensive thing, that slices you to shreds. And your spiritual life flows out of you like blood flowing out of a body which has been cut to ribbons by ten thousand sharp razor blades. Ignorance is no excuse."
Undated lecture · Lecture G37A2, "Spiritual Life Is Like Walking on a Razor's Edge" 14
"You've got to be very careful, you've got to understand the laws and you've got to act accordingly otherwise you'll cut your spiritual life to ribbons. Even while thinking you're somehow a devotee before you know it your whole spiritual life will be in shambles, just pieces, torn up, cut up to pieces."
Undated lecture · "Giving Pain to Others Is an Offence" 15
"It can take you twenty years, twenty lifetimes to come to the point of coming into contact with a pure devotee of Krishna, twenty thousand lifetimes to come into contact with a pure devotee of Krishna and then twenty years of learning from that person, but in one night, the whole thing can be destroyed by this offence of considering the spiritual master to be an ordinary person and then blaspheming him."
Undated lecture · Lecture S60A2-B 16
"If you distribute them spiritual poison that destroys their life spiritually, eternally, you think that is a small thing. It is not. You're very mistaken. You've condemned yourself."
July/August 1988 · Lecture X42A3, "Jagad Guru Speaks: Reincarnation and Identity" 17
"Blaspheming the devotee of Krishna, the elephant offence, to blaspheme the devotee of Krishna, this is the Elephant Offence. Also, another offence is to neglect the instructions of the devotee of Krishna. To neglect the instructions of the spiritual master is an offence."
Undated lecture 18
The guru knows your thoughts
2 quotes
"We should know that my spiritual master knows that my motivation is small, that my desire and motivation to chant Krishna's names is small, that I am weak. I must know that he knows this."
June 16, 2002 · Lecture A101A3-B, "Dependence Upon Krishna and Gurudev" 19
"Don't you think your spiritual master knows the power of the illusory energy?"
Undated lecture 20
Anger at the guru means demonism
2 quotes
"That is the foundation of atheism. That is the foundation of demonism. Demonism means the consciousness where a person, being angry at God, stops saying His Names, closes Him out of their heart... Being angry at Krishna, we join the other team."
July 29, 2001 · Lecture D50A2-B, "Give Up Your Anger at Krishna and Gurudev" 21
"Close your eyes and consider whether or not you are envious of Krishna's dearmost servant. First and foremost, we ask this question: am I envious of my gurudev? Am I envious of the dearmost servant, the servant of Lord Chaitanya? This is number one. We must be free from this."
Undated lecture · Lecture D46A3-B, "Chant Krishna's Names Congregationally and Serve One Another" 22
Offense against the guru is unforgivable
2 quotes
"If one commits an offence at the feet of Lord Hari he can be forgiven if he chants the Holy Name. But if one offends you, there is no remedy."
Undated lecture 23
"We cannot be free from being the victim of Maya if we are covered with offences against a Vaishnava. So if we have offended a Vaishnava, if we've committed some offence against the Vaishnava this must be rectified. We must be purified of this offence by begging the forgiveness of the Vaishnava. This is very crucial."
Undated lecture 24
Butler's direct commands and threats
2 quotes
"If you think you can distribute poison to my disciples or my students, if any so-called disciple thinks you can distribute poison, like she has distributed poison to these children today... if you think that it will simply be a small matter, you are sadly mistaken. You've condemned yourself. That must be distributed to all my disciples. There's no excuse for this nonsense."
July/August 1988 · Lecture Q23A3 25
"I love you, every one of you. Everyone who is here today, I love you, and I don't want to see you suffering, bleeding to death, having your spiritual life, your relationship with Krishna, drain away because you are careless and callous."
Undated lecture · Lecture G37A2, "Spiritual Life Is Like Walking on a Razor's Edge" 26
The love and the threats came from the same mouth, often in the same breath. That is how the fear worked: you never knew which one was coming next.
