Thirteen years ago, I was frantically working to finish writing and editing my memoir about my horrific cult experience, Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus. I had decided that the launch date needed to be the weekend that my ex-cult was opening their largest, most extravagant temple in a tiny, historic village in India called Vrindavan.
I was so wrapped up in the work required to tell my story accurately and fully that I did not have time to plan the publicity phase of my book launch.
While doing some research for the book, I happened upon a website published from Vrindavan that reported news from the area (a place filled with all types of temples, including one for my ex-cult and one for ISKCON).
The Temple War
Along the way, I learned there was an ongoing rivalry between Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (the name of my ex-cult) and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (aka Hari Krishnas). Apparently, each organization wanted to be the biggest and most famous in Vrindavan.
But until JKP ended up with a few very wealthy devotees, they were just small potatoes in Vrindavan. Not anymore. Now the organization’s massive temple and expanding complex dominate the west side of town.
With the launch of its humongous new temple, JKP was surely going to win the battle for the biggest, loudest, and most garish temple in the region. This is not a great thing when it comes to spirituality. Because the area had traditionally been dedicated to the worship of God in the form of Radha-Krishna, all the ancient temples there were small, holy, respectful, and quiet places of worship.
My Book’s First Publicity
But not anymore — thanks to devotees spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build a garish structure for JKP — and I do mean huge and gaudy (think: mashup of Las Vegas casino and Disneyland).
Due to the controversy JKP created over its years-long massive construction project and injection of such a monstrosity into such a sacred holy land, the editor of Vrindavan Today was more than willing to publish an announcement about my book on the date of the temple’s grand opening ceremony in mid-February of 2011.
Little did the editor know how inflammatory this action would be. It ended up being the most read article ever on the website and one that received the most comments ever. I was just happy that my book was getting noticed — because I wanted the world to know the truth about this very wicked organization. (Not surprisingly, my ex-cult pressured the publication to remove the article, which they did after a few years.)
By-Chance Book Publicity
This happenstance was just the beginning of the many by-chance events that surrounded the promotion of my book (self-published by me everywhere but India. On the Indian subcontinent, HarperCollins published it).
Along the way, I had the chance to be interviewed in the Austin American-Stateman by the same reporter who followed Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s arrest, trial, conviction, and escape from justice for child sex abuse.
That article led to a range of speaking engagements, including talking to students multiple times at the University of Texas in Austin.
One time, a reporter in India was writing a major story about India’s fake gurus. In his research, he found my book. He called me and asked me to share my story. Outlook India published the entirety of what I sent them in a side article in their issue on India’s false “god men.”
Book Optioned for Possible Film Project
That experience led to the reporter introducing me to his friend, who was just starting a book publicity company. My publicist was the person who got me a contract with HarperCollins Publishers India, which led to them purchasing the rights to my book for the India subcontinent.
Then, in 2023, out of the blue, HarperCollins Publisher received a call from a major film production company. They wanted to purchase the rights to my book so they could consider producing a film, show, or documentary based on the story. I was amazed to learn how prestigious the company is. They have produced many popular shows that are on Netflix and other streaming services.
I would love to have the company produce a film based on my experience in what I had thought was a true spiritual organization, but what I eventually learned was nothing but a secretive sex cult, where the head guru had been raping girls and women as young as 12-years-old girls for over 60 years.
We’ll see what the future holds in 2024 in the long and winding journey of my book, Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus!
Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus is available on Amazon. You can purchase the book here:
Buy the book in the U.S. and every country but India: click here
Buy the book in India: click here
