Betrayal of the Spirit

by Nori J. Muster

Book Overview

Combining behind-the-scenes coverage of an often besieged religious group with a personal account of one woman's struggle to find meaning in it, Betrayal of the Spirit takes readers to the center of life in the Hare Krishna movement. ? Nori J. Muster joined the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)--the Hare Krishnas--in 1978, shortly after the death of the movement's spiritual master, and worked for ten years as a public relations...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252022637
• ISBN13: 9780252022630
• Release Date: December 1996
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 213 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Well done

I am an iniated member of ISKCON - have been for the last 10 years or so. Still, I rate this book with 5 stars. Why? Because I know that what Nori writes is the sad truth. And we need more books like this. Readers who do not know ISKCON (the hare-krsna-movement)should and just read this book in order get their prejudices confirmed should keep one thing in mind: We are a young movement in the West, and yes, we make all kind of mistakes. Yet - we talk about it. Many ISKCON-members: leaders, rank-and-file-devotees, friends are trying to change ISKCON, to make it, as Srila Prabhupada put it: a house where the whole world can live in. Nori's book is wonderful; I like the style, I like her personal realizations about ISKCON, and I can only congratulate her. There is one sad part to it, though: We need people like Nori *in* ISKCON, not out of it. On the other hand - who if not people like her will make things happen? Thanks, Nori, I love your book! Hare Krsna!

An example of those who follow and those who don't.

This book is an account of what happens when those who claim to follow the world's oldest scriptures (the Veda's) are actually acting to the contrary. I am sure there are many good Hare Krishna and other Hindu devotees who are sincere, but in all religions there seem to be a group of people who are hypocrites. No religion should be condemmed because of these people, or all religions would be victims. The book tells about those who are good and strict devotees who don't strive to do sinful things and also accounts those who don't exemplify a real Hare Krishna and are not following the Vedic scripture, but just claim to be. This is account that could be applied to all religious paths and their followers. It draws a picture of both sides of a coin and looks at what scholars call the "world's oldest religion" and what other people call a "cult".

A disillusioned Krishna member's recollection

Nori J. Muster joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) - the Hare Krishnas - in 1978. She lived in the Krishnas' western world headquarters in Los Angeles and worked for 10 years as a public relations secretary and editor of the organization's newspaper, the ISKCON World Review.Her book, Betrayal of the Spirit, discusses international drug smuggling, arms caches, airport fundraising, child abuse, and assassinations within the mysterious group, as well as the dynamics that forced most of the grou's original members to leave.Muster's book is about the public relations nightmare of the decade following Founder Swami Prabhupada's death. Disillusioned over continuing internal strife, in 1988 Muster left the world of saris, brass cymbals and institutional male chauvinism to come back into mainstream American life.Her story reads like a non-fiction suspense novel while she shows how an organization can quickly fall into dishonesty, deceit and hypocrisy. Her story is intensely personal, touching - and a great read.Publisher's Weekly called it "nothing less than mesmerizing." I enjoyed reading it. -Paula Hassler, Tempe, Arizona

an illuminating picture of a young woman's struggle

I loved Nori Muster's book, "Betrayal of the Spirit". It took me back to the old days in Los Angeles when I lived near the Hare Krishna Temple with my ex husband, guitarist John Fahey. John loved this book so much that he has bought it twice (after losing it once on the road). I remember John taking me over to the temple, to what he called "Little India" and introducing me to the chanting, drumming, and the free vegetarian Sunday feasts. We were given the royal treatment, with tours and (I'm sure) people assigned to us to try to convert us. Although neither of us ever became devotees we were always made welcome at the temple and I bought John a drum and he bought me a sari. "Betrayal of the Spirit" has all of the color and drama of a vivid memory. I could smell the incense, hear the music, feel the emotions of the devotees. The costumes, the makeup, the deities in the temple, they were all there. Even an elephant. What more could a seeker after the exotic want? Nori's intimate description of the inside workings of ISKON satisfied quite a bit of my curiosity about how the organization was run in those days and I found that she portrayed the characters with an attention to detail that really brought them to life for me. I was able to appreciate the conflicts not only between various factions within ISKON, but within each individual. The goal of spirituality was often endangered by the temptation of power.One of the themes that ran throughout the book was the relationship between father and daughter, and how Nori managed within the context of ISKON to follow in her father's footsteps by becoming a Public Relations worker. Her father's advice and support throughout despite her choice of a very different way of life was touching, and Nori's acceptance of his terminal illness was proof of her spiritual outlook."Betrayal of the Spirit" is an illuminating picture of a young woman's struggle to find peace, fulfillment, and structure in a materialistic world where "woman's place" has not yet been decided and men (and women) often long for enlightenment, but settle for money.--Melody Fahey

Excellent insider testimonial of the Hare Krishna people.

Nori's book at times brought tears and at others, buried rage, because I lived it too. She speaks the truth about the lies and corruption that tore away at a spiritual movement when the founder passed away. Only time will tell if the truth and inner purity of this ancient yoga system will be reborn